Sep 13, 2009

Part Of Human Brain Functions Like A Digital Computer, Professor Says

A region of the human brain that scientists believe is critical to human intellectual abilities surprisingly functions much like a digital computer, according to psychology Professor Randall O'Reilly of the University of Colorado at Boulder.


Read the full article at www.Physorg.com

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Scientist: Human brain could be replicated in 10 years

A model that replicates the functions of the human brain is feasible in 10 years according to neuroscientist Professor Henry Markram of the Brain Mind Institute in Switzerland. ‘I absolutely believe it is technically and biologically possible. The only uncertainty is financial. It is an extremely expensive project and not all is yet secured.'


Read the full article Here.

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Sep 11, 2009

Nokia Unveils Its First Linux Phone N900


Nokia's First Linux Phone N900
Nokia unveiled N900, its first smart phone running on Linux software, aiming at improving its offering at the top end of the market.
The Nokia N900 runs on theLinux-based Maeme 5 software, featuring true multitasking with applications as well as Web browsing with Adobe Flash support.

Nokia’s workhorse Symbian operating system controls half of the smartphone market volume — more than its rivals Apple, Research in Motion and Google put together. Nokia said Linux would work well in parallel with Symbian in its high-end product range.
“As Nokia announces the software platform that will drive its future services aspirations it created a dedicated solutions unit — the challenge will be to ensure that all these elements work in harmony in the face of fierce competition from Apple and Google,” said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.
The new N900 model, with cellular connection, touch screen and slide-out keyboard, will retail for around $712, excluding subsidies and taxes.
Nokia also unveiled a new Solutions business unit, which aims to better tie together its phone operations and new mobile Internet services offering.
Technical details of N900:
Display:
3.5 inch touch-sensitive widescreen display
800 × 480 pixel resolution

Web browsing:
Maemo browser powered by Mozilla technology
Adobe Flash™ 9.4 support
Full screen browsing

Camera:
5 megapixel camera (2584 × 1938 pixels)
Image formats: JPEG
CMOS sensor, Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens
3 × digital zoom
Autofocus with assist light and two-stage capture key
Dual LED flash
Full-screen viewfinder
Photo editor on device
TV out (PAL/NTSC) with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, included in box) or WLAN/UPnP
Landscape (horizontal) orientation
Capture modes: Automatic, portrait, video, macro, landscape, action

Video:
Wide aspect ratio 16:9 (WVGA)
Video recording file format: .mp4; codec: MPEG-4
Video recording at up to 848 × 480 pixels (WVGA) and up to 25fps
Video playback file formats: .mp4, .avi, .wmv, .3gp; codecs: H.264, MPEG-4, Xvid, WMV, H.263

Music and audio playback:
Maemo media player
Music playback file formats: .wav, .mp3, .AAC, .eAAC, .wma, .m4a
Built-in FM transmitter
Ring tones: .wav, .mp3, .AAC, .eAAC, .wma, .m4a
FR, EFR, WCDMA, and GSM AMR
Digital stereo microphone
DLNA

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Apple event: Steve Jobs returns, iPod Nano gets a camera, Touch gets faster & cheaper


patterson-204573708-1252521920.jpg (234×344)
Back from his six-month medical leave, Apple CEO Steve Jobs—clad in his trademark black turtleneck and blue jeans—finally reemerged into the spotlight Wednesday to unveil a new digital album format, a video camera-equipped iPod Nano, and a trio of souped up, cheaper, but camera-less iPod Touches. No sign of the Beatles, though.
Indeed, absent news of the Fab Four finally arriving on iTunes or the unveiling of the rumored Apple "iTablet," the reappearance of Jobs—who underwent a liver transplant in April during a six-month leave of absence—was the biggest news of the day.

Dressed in his standard uniform—black turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers—Jobs still looked a bit gaunt but otherwise "good," as the bloggers at Engadget noted. The recuperating Jobs got a long standing ovation as he took the stage, then told the rapt audience that he now uses the transplanted liver of a 20-something man who died in a car crash.

"I'm very happy to be here today with you all," said a thankful Jobs, who urged everyone at the event to become organ donors themselves. "I'm vertical, back at Apple, and loving every day of it."

And with that, Jobs launched into the product demos, including ...

New iPod Touches
Unfortunately, rumors of a Touch with a built-in camera didn't materialize; what we did get, however, was a 64GB version of the Touch to go with the existing 32GB and 8GB models. (The old 16GB version is, for now, MIA). Both the 64GB and 32GB Touches boast "50 percent" faster performance and OpenGL-enhanced graphics, according to Apple, while the 8GB model is stuck with the old, slower Touch processor. Pricing for the  new Touches (all available now): $399 for the 64GB version, $299 for the 32GB, and $199 for the 8GB. (Oddly enough, the new price tags conflict with the Touch price drops that were revealed on the Apple Store earlier today.)

New iPod Nano, with built-in camera
While the Touch didn't get its own camera as expected, the Nano sure did—a VGA-quality, 30 frames-per-second camera, specifically, along with the ability to sync videos to iPhoto or the Photos directory on a PC. The new Nano also comes with a larger, 2.2-inch display, an FM radio, pedometer, voice recorder, and a built-in speaker, as well as support for the new Genius Mixes (more on that in a moment). Prices: 16GB for $179, 8GB for $149.

Updated iPod Classic, Shuffle
Nothing major to report here, except that the Classic now ships with a 160GB hard drive for $249, while the Shuffle—now with the ability to tell you via VoiceOver when its battery is full—will sell for $59 (2GB), $79 (4GB), and $99 (a 4GB stainless-steel special edition).

iTunes 9 & iTunes LP
As expected, we also got our new digital album format: iTunes LP, a slick digital package for full music albums that includes album art, liner notes, credits and "other customized content." The main interface for an iTunes LP-formatted album looks something like a DVD menu, complete with options such as Play Album, Song List, photos, videos, memorabilia, liner notes, and credits; Jobs also mentioned that the artists themselves may collaborate on iTunes LP design (for instance, we got an example from a Dave Matthews LP, with artwork drawn by Matthews himself). It's a sleek looking package, all right, but (at first blush, at least) somewhat short of earth-shattering; while it's a nice bonus for those who buy complete albums, I doubt it will put much of a dent in the trend of buying individual tracks on iTunes.
Also new: "iTunes Extras," which will deliver the same types of extra features for purchased movies that you'd expect from a DVD, such as featurettes and deleted scenes. (Director and cast commentaries, anyone?)

Sharing movies, TV shows, and songs across multiple computers in your home will also be easier thanks to "Home Sharing," a new iTunes feature that'll let you view, stream, and copy your content between up to five systems on a home network—no more need to dig into your iTunes folder and copy content manually.

Jobs & company also showed off Genius Mixes, an extension of the Genius recommendation feature in iTunes that creates "endless mixes of songs" that "go great together, almost like radio stations" starting with 12 mixes based on the tunes in your iTunes library. Another new Genius feature: recommendations for apps, in addition to music.

Meanwhile, iPhone and iPod Touch users with dozens of apps will appreciate this next feature: the ability to manage and organize all the apps on your iPhone/iPod Touch via iTunes, all without having to (clumsily) drag icons back and forth on the device itself.

Other new iTunes 9 features: a cleaned-up iTunes Store interface (with a navigation menu above every page that lets you jump to any section of the store), improved iPod/iPhone syncing (for example, you can now sync entire genres and artist collections), and the ability to preview songs or videos by mousing over them from the iTunes "top charts" listings.

The new Genius features for the iPhone and iPod Touch will be enabled by iPhone Software 3.1, which Jobs said will be available later today. (More details on the new firmware as we get them.)

What we didn't get
No Beatles on iTunes, again (despite today's date, 9/9/09). No sign of the long-rumored iTablet. No built-in video camera for the Touch, or any other iPod besides the Nano. No mention of Apple TV.

So, what do you think: Psyched by the new Nano? Like the idea of iTunes LP? Feeling underwhelmed? Let us know.

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D'oh! Steve Ballmer catches hapless Microsoft employee with an iPhone


Just because you work at Microsoft doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to buy an iPhone, right? But if you do, well ... you'd probably be wise to keep it in your pocket when the infamously volcanic Steve Ballmer is nearby, as one red-faced underling learned during a recent company meeting.
Actually, Steve took it pretty well, according to TechFlash—as in, he only pretendedto stomp on it with his foot.

So here's what happened, as reported by TechFlash and a couple of Twittering witnesses. The setting: Safeco Field in Seattle. The occasion: A demo of Project Natal, a showing of a new Windows 7 TV commercial, stand-up by SNL's Seth Meyers, and some ice-cold beer. The players: A throng of Microsoft employees and the ever-enthusiastic Ballmer, who was "slapping hands, running around, and generally whooping things up," according to TechFlash.

So far, so good, until (as recounted by TechFlash in gory detail) something caught Ballmer's eye: an employee aiming a glossy black phone at him—a phone with a telltale apple-shaped logo winking on its back.

Yep, that's right: A Microsoft employee thought it would be fun to snap a picture of Steve using his iPhone. At a Microsoft company event.
Big oops.

To his credit, Ballmer laughed it off, TechFlash reports. Well, OK—he did grab the iPhone from the poor guy, crack a joke or two (to a chorus of boos, apparently), and then "put it on the ground and pretended to stomp on it, before walking away." And then he poked a little more fun at the staffer later in the festivities, before finally letting it go (the iPhone incident, not the employee).

The moral of the story? Before you go waving your iPhone around, ask yourself: Do I work at Microsoft (and do I like working at Microsoft)? Am I at the office, in a meeting, or a company shindig? Are senior Microsoft executives in the immediate vicinity? If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, you'd best keep that iPhone stowed.

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