UFO interacts with Russian ATC

At last it has happened – UFOs have been seen on the radar screen of Siberian ATC in Russia and there has been an interaction of sorts between the humans and the aliens. The interaction was with a female who had a cat like voice – resembling the ‘meow’. How the alien has been interpreted to be a woman is not clear – probably the decision is based on the high pitch of the voice.
The UFO was traversing the skies early in the morning at an unbelievable speed of 6000 mph at a height of nearly 65,000 feet above sea level and was changing directions at will.
This incident should set sat rest all those doubting Thomases that tend to despise the aliens and ignore the fact that aliens are more intelligent entities and they keep entering the Earth at will to familiarize themselves with our way of living and culture.

prabirghose is based in Nāshik, Maharashtra, India,

Read More

exclusive-Hi, I'm Robo-teacher..! when in america..?

Pupils often assume their teachers don't really exist outside the school gates, now robot classroom assistants could make this a reality.
Almost 30 egg-shaped robots have started teaching English at primary schools in South Korea.
The 3.3ft high machines have a TV panel that displays a female Caucasian face and can wheel around the classroom while speaking to the students. The robots are also able to read books and dance to music moving their head and arms.
But despite appearances the robots, developed the Korea Institute of Science of Technology, are not autonomous beings.
They are actually controlled remotely by English teachers living in the Philippines, who can see and hear the children via a remote control system.
Cameras then detect the teachers' facial expressions and reflect them on the avatar's face.
The robots will teach after-school classes at 21 schools in the south-eastern city of Daegu.
'Well-educated, experienced Filipino teachers are far cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere, including South Korea,' Sagong Seong-Dae, a senior scientist at KIST.
Apart from reading books, the robots use pre-programmed software to sing songs and play alphabet games with the children.
Education official Kim Mi-Young, said: 'The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person.'
Ms Mi-Young said some may be sent to remote rural areas of South Korea shunned by foreign English teachers.
She said the robots are still being tested. But officials might consider hiring them full time if scientists upgrade them and make them easier to handle and more affordable.
'Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers,' she said.
She stressed the robots, which cost £5,600 each, will provide extra support for teachers but not replace them.
The four-month pilot programme was sponsored by the government, which invested £900,000.
Mr Seong-Dae added: 'They won't complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan... all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while.'

Read More

The four inch gadget that helps British soldiers to pinpoint Taliban snipers

British soldiers are to test a revolutionary new device which can pinpoint the exact position of enemy snipers 1,000 yards away.
The tiny computerised ‘sniper spotter’, which has been developed by Army scientists at the top-secret Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Wiltshire, identifies the shooter’s location in an instant, enabling British troops to fire back immediately and accurately.
The new high-tech gadget – just 4in square and weighing 11oz – is worn on a soldier’s arm. It is connected to a shoulder sensor which pinpoints the location.
The device will be trialled this month with the Parachute Regiment in Afghanistan.
The detector’s powerful acoustic processing technology evaluates the enemy position by determining the target’s co-ordinates on a small screen with an arrow indicator.
Simultaneously it bleeps a warning into a headset connected to the device.
The Boomerang Warrior-X processor is the most advanced detector on the market. It has been refined by the scientists from a US system used in Iraq.
The small square-shaped detector will also allow Joint Tactical Air Controllers to forward exact locations of the enemy to fighter pilots for an air strike.
Sources say each unit – known officially known as the Compact Soldier Worn Shooter-Detector System – costs £10,000. An initial 1,000 have been ordered for British troops in Afghan¬istan’s southern Helmand province. If trials are successful, more soldiers will be issued with it later this year.
The way the technology works is a closely guarded secret, but the unique software provides constant updates on the enemy’s location – even if they move position while being fired at.
A senior source said: ‘This bit of kit could be a life-saver. An earlier, larger model was used by US forces in Iraq and in parts of Afghanistan, but this is a first for us and it is being seen as revolutionary.
‘It works on acoustics and when a round is fired the small display panel highlights an arrow indicating the direction of fire, which is a major help in returning fast and accurate fire.’

Read More

By Jupiter! Comet dust and light from billions of stars and far-flung planets creates magnificent display in the desert night sky

If you live in a city it is easy to forget there is a stunning star-scape above your head, which is hidden by light pollution.
But out in the Libyan desert, there is little to obscure your view.
Amateur photographer and civil engineer Tunc Tezel captured the glorious night sky above Ras Lanuf camp in Libya.
The 33-year-old from Turkey is overseeing a coastal railway construction between Sirt and Benghazi and was keen to take advantage of his isolated location.
Although a glowing sky is often cloud reflecting sun or moonlight, the flight running diagonally up to the right is created by the combined light from billions of stars that make up our local Milky Way Galaxy.
Mr Tezel took the image on December 7 an hour after sunset and managed to unveil zodiacal light as well. This is the sunlight reflected off tiny dust particles ejected by comets that orbit our Solar System.
He told : 'I took six pictures as a 3x2 panorama, which I later constructed with image processing software to get the final view.
'The brightest celestial object below centre is the Moon. Mercury is also visible to the lower left of the Moon and just above the horizon.
'After the sky got dark enough, the Milky Way became visible, rising to the upper right from the southwest horizon. Thanks to the clear and transparent skies that evening, Zodiacal Light was also easily seen rising from to the upper left from the southwestern horizon.'
Mr Tezel, who has been an amateur astronomer since 1992 said his location on the northern tip of Africa was the ideal spot for capturing the night sky's beauty.
'From my southern location of Libya (30 degrees North), the Milky Way and Zodiacal Light stood nicely symmetrical,' he said.
'From farther north, Milky way would stand more upright as Zodiacal Light would be nearly invisible as it would make a very shallow angle with the horizon.'
Mr Tezel is part of an organisation called The World At Night or TWAN. The group's main aim of TWAN is to produce and present a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s landmarks against the celestial attractions.

Read More

exclusive-Tomorrow's world? Men on Mars and King William on the throne - Britons' predictions for 2025

Imagine waking up to a world where China is the world's leading superpower, astronauts are busy walking on Mars and a brand new political party is ruling the UK.
Well this could be the reality in 15 years if some of the predictions of 100,000 Britons are correct.
The massive survey asked the men and women of the UK how they pictured the world in 2025.
Nearly half believe Prince William will bypass Prince Charles to be crowned King of England although one in six think the monarchy will have been abolished.
On the world stage 60 per cent think China is set to become the world's leading superpower, while a third of us think Great Britain will be made up of four self-governed countries.
A quarter of those polled believe a new party will form the Government in 2025 although the same proportion think that Labour will be back in power.
Further afield four per cent are optimistic there will be a permanent human base on Mars while one in ten expect a colony of humans to be living in space.
Meanwhile technology will have come on in leaps and bounds.
More than half questioned in the MSN study predict people will watch all their favourite shows via TV sets hooked up to the internet.
Two-thirds believe cosmetic surgery will have become common place and one in six think we will look after own own health using apps and gadgets rather than relying on the doctor.
We will certainly need to if a quarter of Britons are right in predicting the NHS will no longer exist in 2025.
It's also not good news for those in their fifties as three-quarters are confident the retirement age will have risen to 70 by the time they reach pensionable age. One in five even speculate we will have to work up to the age of 75.
Still they may count themselves lucky still having a job as half believe unemployment will reach its highest ever level by the quarter century mark.

Doom and gloom

But at least we can distract ourselves with the daily comings and goings of pop singers and reality stars, as more than half think that 'celebrity' will be a registered profession.
The Pulse of the Nation survey was carried out to mark MSN's 15 year anniversary.
Matt Ball, editor-in-chief at MSN UK, said: 'When MSN launched Toy Story came out and was the first completely computer generated film, John Major was Prime Minister and Barings bank collapsed.
'British life has changed remarkably since then. The depth and breadth of insight from our research demonstrates how passionate and opinionated people are about life in the UK.'
fron daily

Read More

exclusive read-A bridge too far? China unveils world's longest sea bridge

China has unveiled the world’s longest sea bridge, which stretches a massive 26.4 miles – five miles further than the distance between Dover and Calais and longer than a marathon.
The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, completed earlier this week, links the main urban area of Qingdao city, East China’s Shandong province, with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas.
The road bridge, which took four years and cost a cool £5.5billion to build, will be open for use in the New Year and is almost three miles longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana.

That structure features two bridges running side by side and is 23.87 miles (38.42km) long.
The three-way Qingdao Haiwan Bridge is a staggering 174 times longer than London’s Tower Bridge, over the Thames River – and shaves 19 miles off the drive from Qingdao to Huangdao.
Two separate groups of workers have been building the different ends of the structure since 2006.

And hey were relieved when all the bridges connected properly, which they managed to do on December 22.
One engineer commented: ‘The computer models and calculations are all very well but you can't really relax until the two sides are bolted together.
‘Even a few centimetres out would have been a disaster.’
With an overall length of 42.58km, the route between Qingdao and Huangdao will be shortened by 30km, cutting the travel time by about 20 minutes.
However, the colossal construction is set to hold the record as the longest sea bridge only for a few years – and it will be bettered by another Chinese bridge in the next decade.
Last December officials announced workers had begun constructing a bridge to link southern Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macau.
Set to be completed in 2016, officials say the £6.5billion bridge will span nearly 50km (30 miles).
‘Through a more convenient and fast transport network, Hong Kong's financial, tourism, trade and logistics and professional services can become better integrated with the Pearl River Delta and the surrounding areas,’ said Donald Tsang, Hong Kong's Chief Executive.
The bridge will be a six-lane expressway that can handle earthquakes up to magnitude 8.0, strong typhoons and the impact of a 300,000 tonne vessel, said Zhu Yongling, one of the officials leading the project.

Even when constructed that structure will be dwarfed by the longest bridge in the world, which is also in China. The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge, also Chinese, is an astonishing 102 miles in length.
from dailynews

Read More

Release of Industry’s Highest Performance 32-Bit Dual-Core Microcontrollers with Embedded Flash Memory

September 10, 2010 ·  

Renesas Electronics released two new 32-bit dual-core MCUs with embedded flash memory featuring processing performance of 1024 Dhrystone MIPS at a clock speed of 200 megahertz (MHz), which is world’s highest among existing 32-bit dual-core MCUs with embedded flash memory. The new MCUs comes with two built-in CPU cores, 64 KB of RAM for each core as well as 2MB of flash memory plus an additional 64KB system RAM that are available in a 304-pin fine pitch ball grid array (FBGA) package. The new single chip MCUs are ideal for factory automation systems, printers, home information applications and household equipment.
The new MCUs feature expanded peripheral functions including USB, CAN and Ethernet interfaces as well as an increased number of channels covering conventional peripheral such as timers and serial interfaces. The samples of new MCUs are available now at $35 per unit. The mass production is planned to commence by fall of 2011, with a monthly production of 2,000,000 units by March 2012.

Read More

Development of Industry’s First All-Plastic LED Lamp Using High Thermal Conductivity resin

September 10, 2010 ·  

Iwasaki electric and Teijin have jointly developed world’s first all plastic LED lamp that uses a high thermal conductivity resin, which is made by combining Teijin’s RAHEAMA high thermal conductivity carbon material and polycarbonate resin for making the housing of the lamp instead of aluminum. The new LED lamp which is commercially named “EYELAMP” will be sold under Iwasaki electric by the end of 2010. Well, the all-plastic is really the housing of the Lamp and it does not include the bayonet cap.
The new lamp which weighs only 300 grams, offers one tenth of the power consumption of a conventional mercury-vapor lamp, with brighter illumination, lasting for 40,000 hours, roughly seven times than conventional lamp. The new product comes in a warm-colored 3,000 (Ra80) model as well as white 6,500k (Ra70) one.

Read More

Intel and Qualcomm: A Fight to the Finish between Two Industry Giants

Intel Corp. of the US and Qualcomm Inc. of the US are making preparations to enter processors for tablets and other growing applications. Both companies are leaders in their fields, one in PC processors and the other in mobile phone processors, and both desperately want the new market. The outcome of the battle will sway the entire mobile equipment processor market.

Intel, the ruling master of the PC microprocessor market, and Qualcomm, top dog in mobile phone chipsets, are heading for a face-off. The battleground is processors in portable equipment, such as the tablet terminals that exploded with the appearance of the iPad from Apple Inc. of the US (Fig.1).

Fig.1 Intel and Qualcomm Head for a Face-Off

PC microprocessor giant Intel and mobile phone chipset giant Qualcomm are on collision course in this new market midway between them.

Over the last year, Qualcomm has achieved major success in the smartphone sector, building on its years of supplying baseband processor ICs and application processors to mobile phones. The lever they used to accomplish it was the Snapdragon processor, which first showed up in a handset in summer 2009. It single-chips a 1GHz central processing unit (CPU) core and a baseband processor handling 3rd-generation mobile communications (3G) technology. Already about a dozen handsets offer the Snapdragon, primarily those running Android and Windows Mobile OSes.

Intel, meanwhile, essentially monopolizes the market for PC and server microprocessors. In 2008 it used the Atom low-power processor to create a brand-new netbook market. Netbooks, combining low prices with small size and offering limited functionality and performance, have made it possible for Intel to significantly boost shipment volume.

Two World Leaders Go Head-to-Head

Both companies are now taking aim at the terminal market somewhere between smartphones and netbooks. Qualcomm calls them "smartbooks, " while Intel prefers "mobile Internet device" or MID. Regardless of which name you use, they have displays between five and ten inches in size, and come in tablet, clamshell or sliding cases. They are equipped with 3G and Wireless LAN communication functionality, and designed to run on Linux, for example. In other words, they compete directly with the iPad.

Read More

Panasonic to Launch AR Navigation Device for Tourists

The "Tabi Navi"

The function called "Streetscape Camera"

The "What's This Camera" function. By touching the question mark button, it is possible to display information on the tourist spots located in the direction that the camera is aimed at.

Panasonic Corp announced Sept 7, 2010, that it will release the "Tabi Navi," a new type of navigation device, Oct 8, 2010, in Japan.

The device is targeted at travelers who are 50 and older and enjoy walking around towns. It can also be used as a car navigation system. Panasonic plans to sell it at both home appliance retailers and auto supply stores at an expected price of ¥60,000 (approx US$717).

The Tabi Navi, which means "journey navigation," comes with data on 80,000 commercial facilities such as restaurants, hotels and shops in 47 prefectures in Japan. It offers information on (1) the buildings around the user's location, (2) the tourist spots that the user will visit and (3) the routes to the spots.

Moreover, the Tabi Navi is the first car navigation device that is equipped with a camera and can provide augmented reality (AR) services. It features a function to display the names of and distances to tourist spots and landmarks on an image taken by the camera ("Streetscape Camera" function) as well as a function to show the explanation about tourist spots photographed by the camera ("What's This Camera" function).

The first function determines the direction that the camera is aimed at by using a geomagnetic sensor and displays information on buildings and so forth located in the direction. The second function displays information on tourist spots located within several hundreds of meters and in the direction that the camera is aimed at. It does not use image analysis technologies, etc.

Furthermore, the Tabi Navi can be used as a 2-Mpixel digital camera. When a picture is taken by the camera, location information is recorded at the same time as metadata so that the user can later check the locations where pictures were taken.

The Tabi Navi cannot be connected to a network, and data is transferred via an SD card. Panasonic plans to sell additional data on tourist spots on an online store. And such data can be added to the Tabi Navi by using dedicated PC software to write the data on an SD card.

The Tabi Navi can be used to watch and record 1seg digital TV broadcasts.

Read More

Next-gen Automatic Headlight System to Debut in Japan

The BeamAtic Premium blocks part of headlight so that it does not bother the drivers of oncoming vehicles.

Ichikoh Industries Ltd will start selling a headlight system that allows to keep using high beams by continuously controlling light and avoiding bothering the drivers of other vehicles in Japan.

The system, "BeamAtic Premium," was developed by Valeo SA of France. It controls the light in accordance with the states of oncoming cars and leading cars. Ichikoh Industries will start selling it and providing technical supports for it in September 2010.

The BeamAtic Premium detects and tracks oncoming and leading cars by analyzing images taken by in-vehicle cameras with image processing software. Movable dousers are attached to the lamp units of a vehicle, and they block part of the light so that it does not bother the drivers of oncoming vehicles.

Moreover, the headlight is automatically controlled when the user is following or passing other vehicles. When the vehicle is reaching the top or the bottom of a hill, the height of an optical axis is adjusted. And the system is equipped with the AFS (adaptive front-lighting system).

In general, when a car is coming from the opposite direction during nighttime hours, it is necessary to switch high beam to low. But, with the new system, high beams do not light other vehicles, and the drivers of other vehicles only see low beams. Therefore, it offers a comfortable and safe view by keeping using high beams.

The BeamAtic Premium was awarded with the International Technical Innovation Grand Prix at Equip Auto 2009, an international trade show on automotive technologies, which took place in September 2009 in Paris.

Ichikoh Industries will sell not only a model with an HID (high intensity discharge) light source but a model with an LED light source. It intends to propose the employment of the system for high-grade vehicles to Japanese automakers.

Read More

Toshiba to Show 3D TV Viewable Without Glasses in October

Toshiba Corp will unveil a 3D LCD TV that can be viewed without special glasses in October 2010.

The company made the announcement at a press meeting that took place the day before IFA2010, a trade show on consumer devices, which runs from Sept 3, 2010, in Berlin.

Though Toshiba did not reveal the details of the TV's specifications, it said that the screen size will be small.

"We would like to pursue 3D video technologies," said Masaaki Osumi, president of the Visual Products Company, Toshiba. "It is still difficult to release a large 3D TV that can be viewed with the naked eye from the viewpoints of LCD panel and peripheral technologies."

The company is expected to announce the 3D TV at Ceatec, a trade show on consumer devices that took place from Oct 5, 2010, in Japan.

Toshiba employed an LCD panel manufactured by its subsidiary, Toshiba Mobile Display Co Ltd, for the new 3D TV.

Toshiba Mobile Display is currently developing a 3D technology called "integral imaging method," which does not require special glasses. In the method, lenticular lenses are used on the front of an LCD panel. And it leverages motion parallax in addition to parallax between the right and left eyes.

Considering that Toshiba Mobile Display developed a 21-inch LCD display by using the integral imaging method in April 2010, the screen size of the new 3D LCD TV will possibly be 21 inches or smaller.

Read More

Sony Exhibits Prototype of 'Google TV'

The search function of the TV

"Google Map" displayed on the TV

The "Picasa" photo sharing service displayed on the TV

Sony Corp will exhibit a prototype of an LCD TV compatible with Google TV, a platform that Google Inc is developing for TVs, at IFA2010.

IFA2010 is the Europe's largest trade show on consumer devices that runs from Sept 3, 2010, in Berlin. Sony showed the LCD TV to the media prior to the trade show. The company plans to release the TV in the fall of 2010 in the US.

Google TV consists of Google's "Android" platform, the "Chrome" Web browser and Adobe Systems Inc's "Flash 10.1." It has an Internet search function called "Quick Search Box," with which TV programs and Websites can be seamlessly searched. Also, it is possible to display a translucent Web browser on the upper part of a screen showing a TV program as well as to juxtapose the browser and a TV program.

The prototyped LCD TV has a pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080 (full HD) and a screen size of 40 inches. And it is installed with Android and other software. Though Sony said it actually operates, the company did not demonstrate it, just showing images of, for example, its user interface. The images include those of the search function, Google's "Google Map," the "Picasa" photo sharing service, the "YouTube" video sharing service, etc.

Read More

"The Smart Grid is an Extension of Google TV"

Since Google Inc. of the US revealed the Google PowerMeter application in 2009, visualizing equipment power consumption and other data, the company has given priority to development for the Smart Grid next-generation commercial power network. Firms in the energy business are getting quite nervous about it, because it is hard to see exactly what Google's aim is. We spoke with Norio Murakami about Google's intentions for the Smart Grid business.

Norio Murakami, Chairman Emeritus at Google Japan Inc. (Photos: Ichiro Miyahara)

Q: Why is Google so interested in the Smart Grid?

A: We have always worked to increase the quantity of Internet-connected devices, because the more types of equipment there are, the more opportunity there is for someone to use our search services. That directly raises the value of advertising. It's quite simple.

A breakdown of connected equipment shows about a billion PCs, and about twice that many mobile phones and smartphones. We recently announced Google TV, mounting the Android platform for embedded equipment, and if you count TVs, there are about four billion of them.

The Smart Grid is an extension of this approach. We position the Smart Grid as the "Internet of Things," by which we mean interconnecting various things through the Internet. For example, that includes swapping information on energy consumption and other things between the air conditioner and the TV. The Smart Grid will mean a staggering number of connected devices. That's why we developed the Google PowerMeter, to use the Internet to collect information on device power.

Q: This "Internet of Things" concept seems quite similar to the networked home idea promoted by the appliance manufacturers.

A: Development of Smart Grid-compliant home appliances has begun in the US; they're called "smart appliances." Basically they are appliances with communication functions. I think all home appliances will eventually support the Smart Grid, and yes, that is exactly what the networked home concept means. It's more than just the home, though: we're talking about including electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and renewable energy systems like solar cells.

For example, solar cells generate a relatively small amount of electricity, so the EV's storage batteries might be used as power in the home. Or if the EV is being used elsewhere, maybe the thermostat will be adjusted to reduce power consumption. This sort of thing will become possible.

Read More

MySpace users can now sync posts to Facebook

MySpace, which recently revamped itself to look more like Facebook, is now allowing users to sync their posts to Facebook, too.
  
That means people on Facebook can see their friends’ MySpace items without leaving Facebook. It’s a sign the site seeks to carve out a niche that is no longer about competing with Facebook but coexisting.
  
MySpace users will also be able to share music, videos, game applications, links and photos across both social networking sites.
  
The changes are part of an overhaul at MySpace, which has faced falling advertising revenue and stagnant user growth. MySpace users can already sync their Twitter accounts with the site, so that they can post updates on MySpace through Twitter and vice versa.
  
Research firm eMarketer estimates that advertisers worldwide will spend $347 million on MySpace this year and $297 million in 2011. Facebook, meanwhile, is expected to generate $1.29 billion in online ad revenue this year and $1.76 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer.
  
MySpace, which is owned by News Corp, is also in the midst of renegotiating a search partnership as its deal with Google Inc is nearing a close.


from japan today

Read More

Walkman sales surpass iPod sales in Japan in August

Sales in Japan of Sony Corp’s Walkman portable digital music players topped those of Apple Inc’s iPod in August for the first time in eight years, according to a survey by consumer electronics market research firm BCN.
    
The Walkman had a market share of 47.8% in the reporting month against 44% for the iPod, which had retained top slot in the domestic portable digital music player market since seizing it from the Walkman in August 2002. Some consumers held off from buying portable music players ahead of the expected release of new iPod models, a BCN official said.


from japan today

Read More

Sony to launch full online music distribution service by year-end

Sony Corp will launch a full-fledged online music distribution service based on cloud computing technology later this year, Fujio Nishida, president of Sony Europe, said in Berlin. The service will initially be available via Sony’s network-enabled television sets, personal computers, Blu-ray disc players and PlayStation 3 game machines before being expanded to its other portable devices, according to the company.
    
With the move, Sony will challenge a similar service offered via the iTunes music site launched by Apple Inc in 2003. Since Sony’s new service will rely on cloud computing, which delivers data housed remotely in cyberspace, Nishida said, ‘‘That would obviate the need for file management tasks on customers’ computers so they can listen to the music they like anytime they want.’‘
    
To date, Sony’s online music services offered in countries such as Japan and the United States have not had much success because the technology required to provide the service differs from one country to another.


from japantoday

Read More

Man in Nagano computes value of pi to 5 tril digits

A company employee in Nagano Prefecture calculated the value of pi to five trillion digits this month using a self-made personal computer, beating the record set by a French engineer who calculated it to about 2.7 trillion digits late last year.
    
To calculate the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, to an undetermined number of digits, Shigeru Kondo, a 55-year-old resident of Iida, assembled a computer with 32 terabytes of hard-drive capacity and used an application made by Alexander Yee, a 22-year-old student at a U.S. graduate school.
    
After Kondo repeated tests via e-mail, he began the computation on May 4, and the work lasted 90 days and about seven hours until it was completed on Aug 3, including verifications, following difficulties including a power outage. He plans to apply for the Guinness Book of Records.
    
The mountainous task affected the daily lives of Kondo’s family. His wife, Yukiko, 53, said they had to pay 20,000 yen a month for electricity. The work was also threatened when their 29-year-old daughter used a dryer and threw a circuit breaker. Kondo managed to rescue the operation using a 10-minute backup power supply.
    
As the temperature of the computer room soared to near 40 degrees Celsius, Kondo avoided a hardware meltdown by removing casings and exposing computer parts to cooling fans.
    
Kondo has been engaged in computing the value of pi since calculating the value to 1,000 digits as a fourth-year technology college student. While working as a systems engineer for a food company, he repeatedly assembled computers using commercially available circuit boards and memory.
    
‘‘This is for sheer self-satisfaction,’’ said Kondo, who spent 1.5 million yen on the computer used in the latest calculation.
  
But ‘‘I used only 60% of the computer’s total capabilities,’’ he said. ‘‘I want to try to compute the value to 10 trillion digits, possibly next spring.’’

from japantoday

Read More

Toshiba to launch iPad rival tablet in Europe, other areas Oct-Dec

Toshiba Corp will start marketing the Folio 100 touch-display tablet with a wide range of online connectivity functions including music downloads and storage, and ebook reader, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa between October and December. Toshiba is also considering marketing the product in Japan and the United States, but the timing of its release in the two markets has yet to be decided, the consumer electronics manufacturer said.
    
Toshiba is keen on competing with Apple Inc. of the United States which released the iPad in April and enjoyed instant success, as a growing number of electronics companies are gearing up to enter the market of multifunctional tablet computers, analysts said.
    
The Folio 100, measuring 28 centimeters in length, 18 cm in width and 1.4 cm in thickness, runs on the Android operating system developed by Google Inc. of the United States which features a speedy boot.
    
The new 760-gram tablet can store music and pictures on an SD memory card. The suggested retail price in Europe will be 399 euros or roughly 43,000 yen, the company added.


from japantoday

Read More

Development of Industry’s First Reflective HTPS TFT Liquid crystal Panels by Seiko Epson

September 1, 2010 ·  

Seiko Epson has made an announcement on release of world’s first reflective high temperature polysilicon (HTPS) TFT liquid crystal panels for 3LCD projectors. The new display panel supports full HD contents and it measures only 0.74 inches on the diagonal. The new panels fuse the reflective display technology with the HTPS technology, providing a device level contrast ratio of 100,000:1 or higher, and ability of providing natural looking images and rich gradations.
The main structural difference between the new panel and the conventional type is that the new panels’ reflective electrode instead of a transparent electrode on the TFT substrate. The C2 Fine technology responsible for high contrast ratio in transmissive HTPS panels has been optimized for the new reflective panels. Furthermore, Epson’s unique planarization technology has been used in order to make the reflective layer almost flat for controlling the scattering of light. Seiko Epson has already begun volume production of the new Panels.

Read More