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How to Shut Down a Nuclear Reactor

At the Torness nuclear power station in East Lothian, UK, seawater is taken in and filtered before it is used to cool down the reactor cores. It is not unusual for these inlets to be clogged with debris from the ocean, mainly seaweed and jellyfish. But on the 28th of June, the power plant faced a highly unusual situation.

Clouds of jellyfish seemed to be pulled towards the plant and clogged its intake filters. This reduced the flow of cool seawater to the reactor cores. At first the plant engineers tried to reduce the load on the cores to reduce the amount of water required to cool them, but that was not sufficient and the cores had to eventually be shut down. Local fishermen were employed by the plant in the effort to clear up the jellyfish. They also used spotter planes to identify the large swarms or blooms of the sea creatures out in the open ocean. Large industrial vacuum cleaners (mounted on trucks) were also used to clear the water of any jellyfish that made it past the intake filters.

The incident has been picked up by environmentalists to prove the unreliability of nuclear power, however the plant bosses claim that the public was never in any danger. The plant is regularly taken offline to ensure that its in good working order and this incident was no different. One of the plants cores was brought back online today while the other core is still being serviced.

Why the jellyfish decided to make the sudden migration to the plant’s intake filters remains a mystery to experts and has stumped locals. So how many jellyfish did they end up catching? Over 600 tons!

July 1, 2011
MSI Launches A75MA-G55 Worlds Fastest Motherboard with Integrated Graphics in India (PR)

MSI has launched the A75MA-G55 Motherboard with Integrated GPU in India.

The A75MA-G55 board is a micro-ATX part based on AMD’s Hudson D3 chipset. It features MSI’s Military Class II components. four DIMM slots with support for up to 32GB of memory, four USB 3.0, eight USB 2.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbps, 8-channel audio, GbE LAN, HDMI, DVI, D-Sub, and MSI’s Click BIOS concept based on UEFI.

There is no word on pricing or availability.

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2011/6/29

MSI A75MA-G55: World’s Fastest Mainboard With Integrated Graphics

MSI A75MA-G55 was officially announced on June 27 as the world’s fastest mainboard with integrated graphics. MSI, the world’s leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer has incorporated over 25 years of overclocking experience in their latest motherboard. Hardware enthusiasts and and overclockers were eagerly waiting for the MSI A75MA-G55 with FM1 sockets. The mainboard is the perfect tool to enjoy the superpower of A series APUS by AMD. The mainboard has scores P1646 points on 3DMark 11. With Military Class II components, A75MA-G55 was found to be perfectly stable under highest workloads.

MSI A75MA-G55

Those who are technically challenged when it comes to overclocking, but still want to enjoy extra power can use MSI’s OC Genie II technology. It allows single click overclocking without need of any technical knowledge. OC Genie II is available on all MSI A75-Series mainboards. MSI claims that the mainboard has broken records on 3D Mark 06 which has been made possible only by versatile Click BIOS UEFI interface and improvements in mainboard design.

Certified Military Class

MSI’s Military Class II components have been certified by the United States Department of Defense 810G Standard. Only Military Class II components have the lifetime and stability required by today’s most demanding situations of extreme overclocking but at the same time provide great levels of power saving. The MSI A75MA-G55 has proven to be stable under the highest workloads and stress conceivable, overclocking, clearly displaying the top quality and stability demanded by professional overclockers.

OC Genie II – Easy one click overclocking

MSI’s OC Genie II technology allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of extra performance without having any technical knowledge.

Applauded by media worldwide for its simple operation and great benefits, OC Genie II set the new standard for mainboard performance and that technology powers todays 3DMark 11 and 3DMark 06 world records. OC Genie II is available on all MSI A75-Series mainboards.

Not only is the MSI A75MA-G55 fastest in the latest world standard benchmark 3DMark 11, but it also broke the world records for 3DMark 06. The MSI A75MA-G55 thanks its recordbreaking performance to the use of the most stable components found in Military Class II, versatile Click BIOS UEFI interface and excellent mainboard design

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July 1, 2011
Poll : And The Winner Is !

Sometime back we asked you what your next phone is going to be. A lot of you answered and we decided to let you guys know the Result

As per our Readers, by a clear margin, the most popular Smartphone for Q2 2011 is the Samsung Galaxy S2, which got 25 % of the crowd voting for it. Followed by the iPhone 4 which was at approx. 9 % .

About 8% users mentioned other phones not mentioned in the poll and approx. 7% and 6% for the Wildfire S and Motorola Defy respectively.

The rest of the phones including, and not limiting to, the HTC Sensation (4.5%) Optimus 2X (2 %) Galaxy S (3 %) and those waiting for the iPhone 5 fell in the 45 % (others) category.

You can find the original poll over here [button link=”https://igyaan.in/2011/06/poll-phone/” bg_color=”#1f1fff”]Click Here[/button]

July 1, 2011
Scientists Develop Robotic Skin

The human skin is a magnificent sensory organ. It can detect the minutest gust of wind to a single touch. Robots however, are unable to sense the world around them in this fashion. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, are developing an artificial skin for robots with a similar quality.

The skin will provide important tactile feedback for the robot and augment its existing camera “eyes”, its infrared sensors and gripping tools. As with human skin, the way the artificial skin is touched could trigger different reactions from the robot. It could for example, run away when hit, or use its eyes to see what has touched it.

The centrepiece of the new robotic skin is a five square cm hexagonal plate or circuit board. Each small circuit board contains four infrared sensors that detect anything closer than one cm. There are also six temperature sensors and an accelerometer, which allow the robot to accurately measure the movement of its limbs. The circuit board was designed keeping future expandability in mind, hence it can have more sensors attached as needed.

July 1, 2011
Microsoft unveils Office 365 In India

Microsoft has announced the launch of Office 365 business productivity solutions on the cloud in India. Office 365 takes aim at cloud based enterprise and small business word processing and document editing and storage. This will enable an enterprise to have their solution available for easy access on the cloud.

The Office 365 plan for Small Businesses is optimized for organizations with 25 users or less and includes Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online at approximately $6 per user per month.

With Office 365 Microsoft is attempting to target those users who were using Google apps for business by giving more comprehensive solutions at a selectable pricing. Getting partners and a huge database on board may be the real challenge for MS in OFFICE 365.

July 1, 2011
Skype – Cross Platform Video Calls Now on Android

Skype announced that its Android client now supports cross platform video calls, so desktop users can now see mobile users and vice versa. At the moment, this functionality is limited to only four Android handsets, the Desire S, Xperia Neo and Pro and the Nexus S. If you have one of these phones, you can now make video calls to your friends over WiFi and 3G both.

Video Calls between android devices have been possible for a while now, but the option to make video calls to desktops/laptops has been limited. Most Android users won’t be affected by this update although Skype promises to add other handsets “soon”.

The new Skype client can switch between front and rear facing cameras, so you can show people your face as well as what you are seeing. It can connect to all Skype clients including the iPhone as well as many Skype enabled TV’s.

the Desire S, Xperia Neo and Pro and (of course) the Nexus S

July 1, 2011
Facebook to launch Facebook Credits for India today

Social networking site Facebook will finally introduce a payment system ‘Facebook Credits’ for Indian users. Members can then spend the virtual currency across various games or applications on Facebook.

Facebook Credits is already a popula virtual currency in many countries.

Facebook will introduce a new payment system Facebook Credits in India from July 1,” a company spokesperson told media.

Starting July 1, we will require all social game developers on the Facebook canvas platform to process payments through Facebook Credits. Facebook Credits is currently used in more than 350 applications from 150 developers, representing more than 70 percent of virtual goods transactions volume on Facebook,” Facebook Platform Marketing Manager Deb Liu wrote on the company’s official blog in January

This will also help various brands, which use the medium of Facebook to retail them goods through their social pages. Many developers such as Zynga, Playfish, CrowdStar , Digital Chocolate, PopCap and Arkadium have already adopted Facebook Credits for in-game virtual goods.

July 1, 2011
SENTINEL – The First Women’s Security App

MindHelix Technologies LLP, a Kochi based IT company, has launched an app called SENTINEL which is the first app designed with women’s security in mind. The app can send instant alerts in case of any problems. A forced power-off of the phone or an improper exit of the application will trigger an alert to be sent. Prolonged signal loss will also cause a ‘fail safe’ alert SMS and email to be sent from the company’s server.

Co-Founder & CEO Christin Emmanuel George said

[quote]We want to add a direct emailing or texting to nearest police station as soon as possible. We hope to get their consent in receiving and acting on such information.[/quote]

According to a survey by Assocham Social Development Foundation, more than 53% of women feel unsafe in their workplace, especially at night. With crimes against the fairer sex on the rise, applications like these could provide a sense of security for women. Records show that crime rates against women have increased dramatically in the metros.

Sentinel can send multiple SMS and e-mail alerts to preconfigured numbers and e-mail ids. The alerts would include last known location, direction of travel, mode of transportation and vehicle number (which the user can enter). The app has been designed for smart phones including all devices with Android, Blackberry, Symbian, iOS and Java operating systems. The application was designed with the urban woman in mind and requires a continuous cellphone signal.

The free app can be downloaded from http://sentinel.mindhelix.com/

July 1, 2011
Facebook will Launch some thing Awesome Next week

Facebook might launch something in the Mobile or Tablet division next week, if rumors are to be believed. Chief Executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg told reporters that the company planned to “launch something awesome” next week.

He said the project had been developed at the 40-person Seattle office, Facebook’s only major engineering center outside of its Palo Alto, California headquarters.

The iPad app and a specialized photo sharing app for the iPhone have been long overdue.

Facebook, the world’s largest Internet social network with more than 500 million users, is increasingly challenging established online companies like Google Inc and Yahoo Inc for consumers’ time online and for advertising dollars.

[via reuters]

July 1, 2011
Angry Birds – Now on Windows Phone 7

For those of you who own a Windows Phone 7 Smart-phone, there’s some good news! You can now download Angry Birds from the Marketplace onto your phone. The first time we heard that this game was coming to the platform was in October 2010, even before the mobile OS was launched. A few days before its launch, Microsoft included an image which hinted at the game being a part of the platform. However, Rovio, the company behind the physics game, had not developed a version for the platform.

Microsot and Rovio later made up and the software giant hinted at a 2011 release. The game was scheduled for mid May and then pushed back to 29^th June. On Wednesday, users from around the world could download the game from the Marketplace.

June 30, 2011
Al-Qaida Communications Offline

Terrorist group Al-Qaida has been left without a distribution channel on the Internet, says terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann of Flashpoint Partners. In an e-mail he sent on Wednesday, he said

[quote]I really can’t say for certain how or why this happened, other than that it involved apparently separate attacks on both the domain name and data server used by al-Qaida’s trusted forum, Al-Shamukh. That kind of coordinated event doesn’t typically occur by happenstance.[/quote]

Kohlmann, who has spent a decade tracking Al-Qaida, has said that other jihadi forums have been left online for the “rabble” to communicate. However, none of these forums are trusted by members of Al-Qaida. The incident, which started around 72 hours ago, began with the hijacking of the primary web domain used by the Shamukh chat forum, which disseminates propaganda on behalf of Al-Qaida. The next phase of the attack involved crippling the Shamukh website along with two other top level jihadi forums, including the Arabic-language Ansar al-Mujahideen Network.

He said that Al-Qaida most certainly had a backup of the Shamukh forum database, but there are no other channels left for the terrorist organisation to distribute new material. Either the forum must be brought back online, or they must establish a new relationship with another forum.

A list of potential suspects who brought down the Al-Qaida site includes government sponsored hackers from the US and the UK as well as independent cyber vigilantes.

June 30, 2011
Google+ Blocked in China

China, as a country has banned Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Foursquare. Its newest target has been the Google+ service, which promises to give a better social networking experience than Facebook. A Chinese Internet Analyst Sage Brennan had this to say:

[quote]This was the quickest blockage I can remember … The speed with which they moved to block Google+ was surprising, but I couldn’t be less surprised to see it blocked.[/quote]

China has discouraged the use of online forums with a political tinge and has been wary of all foreign social networks after growing fears of uprisings in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Libya which were fuelled by social networks. Instead of continuing under a Chinese censorship, Google opted to pull out its search engine from mainland China last year. A few weeks ago, there were allegations that Google’s email service, Gmail, was hacked by Chinese hackers.

With the launch of Google+, Google wants to redefine social networking by fixing the alleged imperfections in the Facebook model. They say that the way we connect with people has to be re-worked. Right now, they say that the existing social network model has reduced friends to the status of fast food, where people wrap each other in friend paper. At the moment, we’re bombarded with updates from all of our ‘friends’. But in reality, you share something with your friends, another thing with your parents and a third thing with your boss.

The core of Google+ lies in its ability to define ‘circles’. Circles are basically groups that allow you to define what you are sharing and with who. There are also a host of other services like +Sparks (Strike up a conversation, about pretty much anything), +Hangouts (stop by and say hello), +Mobile (share what’s around), +Location, +Instant Upload, +Huddle and +You.

The service is going through a limited trial at the moment and is scheduled for release soon.

June 30, 2011
Internet Explorer 10 Preview 2, holds upcoming strength for Microsoft

Microsoft has released a new Internet Explorer 10 preview, the second pre-release of Internet Explorer 10 designed to give developers access to the new technologies that Internet Explorer 10 will deliver.

Still in preview mode the explorer does not grant access to technologies and structure that will be available in the final build, but it does give a preview of the browsers capabilities.

Preview 2 also includes support for the new Web File API, Web Worker API, HTML5 Test, Javascript test and Acid 3. All of which show that Internet explorer is making good progress with its new capabilities. As it is Microsoft is ahead of schedule in releasing beta updates for the IE platform. It shows the ability MS has in bringing its primary browser up to speed with the competition sometimes even leaving it behind.

Features like Web worker and Web Sockets will make developers really happy, and the end product which is just a fast paced internet experience would do the same for end users.

June 30, 2011
How to : Upgrade the Spice Mi 410 to 2.3.4 Gingerbread Step by Step
The Spice Mi 410 was launched some time back, we also got an unboxing video for you guys. Now thanks to several readers of iGyaan, we found a way to update the Mi-410 to the latest Software Update Android 2.3.4 aka Gingerbread, and we tell you how!

Note : Please take a backup of your device, contacts/ pictures / files, anything thats important.

Also Note : This might void your warranty or damage your device and you do this at your own risk

What you Need!
1. Spice Mi 410 (Duh!)
2. A Windows / Mac
3. Data cable (USB-microUSB) / Memory Card reader
4. Patience
5. Combo Update [button link=”http://www.cherrymobile.com.ph/downloads/MAGNUM_softwareupdate2.zip” style=”download”]DOWNLOAD [/button]
Step 1

Download the above mentioned file, its an update for Cherry Mobile Magnum, which is actually the same handset, branded under the cherry mobile name.

Step 2

Extract the ZIP file. downloaded above and copy the extracted FB0-318B-0-5019-A01.nb0 to your SD card. Make sure it is placed in the Root Folder and not in the Downloads folder.

Also rename the file FB0-318B-0-5019-A01.nb0 to firmware.nb0 you can do this before or after copying the file, it does not matter.

Step 3

Enter bootloader mode :
- To do this first power off your device.
- Once off, Hold – Vol Up + Vol Down + Power Button and you will see the Android Image as below
- Next Hold down on the home button and you should be in the bootloader mode see below
Step 4
- Use the volume down button to scroll to “Download nb0 from SD card”
- Then tap the back Button
Your phone should now upgrade to the new firmware and reboot into the new os with the Cherry Mobile Logo.

Quickly jump into Settings to confirm the Upgrade
June 30, 2011
Tag Heuer Launches US$ 6,700 Alligator Skinned Android 2.2 Mobile

Usually Super expensive phones have been nothing but, well, expensive. Tag Heuer has changed that by launching a super expensive alligator skinned Android powered smartphone which has pretty boring specs, 3.5-inch (800 x 480) display, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, 256MB internal memory, an 8GB memory card, 1400 mAh battery, and EDGE / HSUPA connectivity.

Live from Apple’s iPhone 6S announcement: The Verve

The 3.5 Lac device will come in 3 options, steel, 18K rose gold, or titanium. Other options include alligator- and lizard-skin, rubber, and diamond accents. Tag Heuer goes into great detail discussing how it is water-tight, fully air-sealed, shock-resistant, and used some type of a hard material over the screen called Gorilla Glass.

Read the Tag Heuer version

Unlike anything else on the luxury market, the TAG Heuer LINK is a high-performance machine of unprecedented functionality. Extreme reliability and robustness are guaranteed through a battery of quality tests well exceeding industry standards.
Stand out features include lightning-fast connectivity, 16-million color screen resolution, a large 3.5’’ display, a high-definition 5-mega-pixel auto-focus camera, 11 hours of music play time, and, through its avant-garde Android operating system, download access to over 250,000 applications. It also comes fully loaded with a host of TAG Heuer add-ons: customized screen designs,widgets, animations, wallpapers, icons and ring tones.

Swiss Watchmaking tradition allied with the latest in high-tech telephony

The TAG Heuer LINK is instantly recognizable as a top-end TAG Heuer product, avant-gardeboth for its ergonomic design and its very contemporary elegance. Motion, purity, curve, precision, a shimmering dynamism in its form and silhouette — these are its signature values.

The luxury handset is composed of classic watch components and cutting-edge technology. Fully shockproof, the body is engineered like the case of a TAG Heuer watch. As airtight and locked-down as a strong box, it provides full protection of the precious contents — your videos, photos, files and data — sealed in its interior.

Other signature TAG Heuer references include the screws on the handset’s reinforced chassis, which echo those on the casebacks of TAG Heuer chronographs. The unique autolock system on the side, which gives quick access to the SIM card, the connection port and the memory card, sports the TAG Heuer’s shield in black lacquer and looks like a classic TAG Heuer timepiece crown.

A luxury design object of ultimate prestige and performance

Luxuriously crafted and detailed, the TAG Heuer LINK incorporates the most prestigious materials and advanced components in the watchmaking and automotive worlds, including black PVD, diamonds and rose gold. The mirror-polished and fine-brushed stainless steel is premium grade surgical 316L, corrosion-resistant and hypoallergenic. The big display front is made from visually stunning, lightweight, and highly damage-resistant Gorilla glass®. The exclusive, hand-worked coverings are in calfskin, alligator or lizard. Every material, precious stone and exotic skin or leather is sourced within the strictest industry standards.

Exclusively launched in TAG Heuer retailers in July 2011, the TAG Heuer LINK is the essential work hard/play instrument, ideal for business and entertainment. Like thewatchmaking heritage that inspires it, it delivers avant-garde luxury with uncompromisingstrength, precision and reliability. A communications instrument of uncompromised calibreand capabilities, it shares the pinnacle of high-performance engineering and innovation with its partner, the MERIDIIST.

The TAG Heuer LINK seriously upgrades the way the world connects.

Main characteristics
Size: 118mm (H) x 67mm (W) x 16.6mm (D)
OS: Android 2.2
Form factor: Bar type touch screen
Weight: 200 grams (battery included)
3G Talk time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Stand by time: up to 330hrs (~14 days)
Battery included: Li-lon 1400mAh

Messaging
SMS / MMS / Email (Predictive Text Input XT9)
Image formats supported: JPEG / GIF / BMP
Sound formats supported: MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / RA / WMA

Connectivity
Stereo Bluetooth
AGPS, Wifi, WAPI
Compatible with any SIM card

Radio
Edge & HSUPA (3G)
4 Band GSM/Tri Band WCDMA

Music / Photo & Video
Internal memory: 256 MB
Memory card: 8GB
Music play time: 11 hours

Photo & Video
LCM Screen: TFT 3.5”
Screen resolution: 800*480 pixels – 16 millions of colors
5 Mega Pixel Camera Auto Focus
Video player and recorder

Applications
Android Market with up to 250 000 applications such as:
Adobe Flash Reader
Google Search, Google Maps
GMail , You Tube , E-Blogger

Phone Materials
316L Stainless steel, Gold, Diamonds, Black PVD, Titanium, Rubber, Calfskin leather,
Carbon leather, Alligator and Lizard

Price
An entry price of 4700€.

June 29, 2011