Is bad time started for Adobe flash??

After apple, now its microsoft's turn. Microsoft says IE9 will only support H.264 for video.

Article appeared on guardian.co.uk

Microsoft is supporting H.264 in IE9 but not its own system, VC-1, or the open source Ogg Theora. It will continue to not support Adobe Flash, though you can expect it to support its own rival system, Silverlight.

Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch, the general manager of Internet Explorer, says he has noticed "a lot of posting about video and video formats on the web recently," and taken the opportunity to chip in with support for the H.264 codec. He writes:

HTML5 will be very important in advancing rich, interactive web applications and site design. The HTML5 specification describes video support without specifying a particular video format. We think H.264 is an excellent format. In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only.

There's nothing new about Microsoft supporting HTML5, even though it's not yet a standard. There's also nothing new about Microsoft supporting the heavily patent-encumbered H.264. Nonetheless, some people have taken the "only" bit rather badly, saying that IE9 should support the open source codec Ogg Theora.

Is bad time started for Adobe flash??

Now, a mango variety named after Sachin

Article appeared on in.news.yahoo.com

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) In a unique way of paying tribute to batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, a new variety of mango has been named after the senior India cricketer. Kalimullah Khan, an elderly farmer from Malihabad in Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh, has found this noble way to salute the iconic batsman, who is the highest run accumulator in both forms of the international cricket -- Test and ODI.

Now, a mango variety named after Sachin

Optimised battery for Smart Phone.

Article appeared on news.bbc.co.uk

Smartphones could have their battery life extended by up to 20% by changing what type of memory they use.

Samsung has announced plans to produce memory modules built of what is known as a phase change material.

These modules are built of a substance that records or erases data when it is heated and typically use far less power than existing equivalents.

Samsung said modules made of the memory material would roll off its production lines later in 2010.

It plans to produce phase change memory (PCM) chips in the same format as existing designs so they can easily be worked into production runs.

Optimised battery for Smart Phone.

squadron leader or wing commander Sachin Tendulkar ?

Article appeared on deccanchronicle.com

New Delhi, April 30: The Indian Air Force is considering a move to confer the honorary rank of either squadron leader or wing commander on master batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

Defence sources confirmed to this newspaper that the move was at a “very preliminary stage” and that any formal proposal moved by the IAF would have to be placed before the ministry of defence (MoD) for approval.

When asked by this newspaper about the move, the response of the usually-outspoken Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, was a polite “No comment”. It is understood that the IAF is keen on conferring the honour on the cricket legend after permission is granted by the government and the requisite formalities are completed.

squadron leader or wing commander Sachin Tendulkar ?

Japan to help India build ‘smart’ city

Article appeared on profit.ndtv.com

Having provided funds and expertise for the metro rail, Japan will now help India build futuristic smart city with minimal pollution, maximum recycling and consumption-efficient public transport system.

The project, which will also include 11 investment regions and 13 industrial areas, is being touted as the next big thing in the country's urban infrastructure space.After roads, ports and airports, now cities will be built via public private partnership.

Japan to help India build ‘smart’ city

Tiger Woods draws galleries but can't find game

Article appeared on ndtv.com

Tiger Woods wanted a return to normalcy when he arrived for the Quail Hollow Championship after a five-month odyssey of revelation and regret in his personal life.

But the toll on his professional life is just beginning to be seen as Woods plays in his second tournament back from a hiatus and first regular PGA Tour event after his return at the Masters earlier this month. Those who believed that Woods had lost fans along the way might be wrong. Instead, he seems to have lost the edge on his game, at least for now.

Tiger Woods draws galleries but can't find game

US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

Article appeared on news.bbc.co.uk

Rising rates of obesity among young Americans could undermine the future of the US military, two retired generals have warned.

More than a quarter of young Americans are now too fat to fight, they said.

Writing in the Washington Post, the ex-commanders said the fat crisis ruled out more potential military service recruits than any other medical factor.

They want Congress to introduce laws to give US children better nutrition in schools, with less sugar, salt and fat.

US youngsters are too fat to fight, warn generals

What Men And Women Are Doing On Facebook

Jenna Goudreau, Forbes.com

"The world's gone social. And women are more social than men." --Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

Facebook, the largest social networking tool in the world, is dominated by women.

According to BrianSolis.com and Google Ad Planner, the 400-million member site is 57% female and attracts 46 million more female visitors than male visitors per month. Plus, women are more active on Facebook. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says women on Facebook have 8% more friends and participate in 62% of the sharing. "The social world is led by women," she concludes. And they're leading that charge online.

Women are the majority of users on many of the biggest social networking sites, including Twitter, MySpace, Bebo and Flickr. Men, meanwhile, are most active on sites like Digg, YouTube and LinkedIn, which are more content-oriented and promotional than discussion-based.

What Men And Women Are Doing On Facebook

Adobe confirms plans to move away from Apple

Article appeared on news.bbc.co.uk

Adobe has posted a short response to the letter Apple boss Steve Jobs has written about Flash technology.

In it, Adobe said the legal terms Apple imposed on software developers had led it to shift its focus away from Apple.

Mr Jobs used the open letter to defend Apple's decision not to allow Flash on many of the firm's products.

In it he criticised Flash, saying it was not fit for an era of smartphones and touchscreen devices.
Critical stance.

Adobe confirms plans to move away from Apple

PM, Sachin among 10 Indians in Time 100

Article appeared on ibnlive.in.com

Washington: Manmohan Singh finds himself in the 19th spot in the Leaders list headed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with US president Barack Obama in the fourth place.

As India's finance minister from 1991 to 1996, Manmohan Singh "released India's potential for the benefit of its people. Now, as Prime Minister, he is guiding India into the ranks of the great powers," wrote PepsiCo's Indian American chairperson Indra Nooyi.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar gets the 13th place among 25 "Heroes" headed by former US president Bill Clinton who is recognised for his work as a fund-raiser and anti-poverty activist.

PM, Sachin among 10 Indians in Time 100

Tiger Woods had 120 affairs in five years

Melbourne: Golfer Tiger Woods has confessed to cheating on his wife Elin Nordegren with as many as 120 women during their five-year marriage, says a report.

Woods was said to have listed all the women he has had an affair with as part of his treatment for sex addiction at the Gentle Path rehab centre in Mississippi, reports news.com.au.

Nordegren decided to divorce him after learning about his alleged affair with 21-year-old neighbour Raychel Coudriet. Woods has denied having a relationship with Coudriet.

Tiger Woods had 120 affairs in five years

New iPhone expected in June

Article appeared on independent.co.uk

Reuters: Apple will host its annual developers conference starting 7 June, where the company is expected to unveil the latest version of the iPhone.

The event will run through 11 June in San Francisco, Apple said on Wednesday.

The event in previous years has featured a keynote address by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Last year, with Jobs on medical leave, marketing head Phil Schiller substituted.

New iPhone expected in June

Clapping along songs improves kids' brain power

Article appeared on deccanchronicle.com

Clapping while singing songs is likely to spur development of important skills in children, a first-ever study on the subject says.

"We found that children in the first, second and third grades who sing these songs demonstrate skills absent in children who don't take part in similar activities," explains Idit Sulkin, a member of Ben-Gurion University (BGU) Music Science Lab in the Department of the Arts.

"We also found that children who spontaneously perform hand-clapping songs in the yard during recess have neater handwriting, write better and make fewer spelling errors," Sulkin adds.

Clapping along songs improves kids' brain power

Supplements in fish oil do not boost brain power

Article appeared on deccanchronicle.com

PTI: Rejecting the long held belief that supplements in fish oil are good for kids brain, a new study claimed that the pills do not boost mental ability of children.

For the study, which according to the researchers is the largest of its kind, 450 children aged eight to ten at 18 schools in South Wales were given either omega-3 supplements 'clever capsules' or placebos for a period of four months.

The results of a series of tests showed that the fish oil pills did not improve the youngsters' work – although it did appear that those taking them were more attentive.

Supplements in fish oil do not boost brain power

Indian develops chip to contain entire library

Article appeared on deccanchronicle.com

An Indian-American scientist has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented amount of data - enough to hold an entire library.

The new chip stems from a breakthrough in the use of nanodots, or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in computer-memory technology.

"We have created magnetic nanodots that store one bit of information on each nanodot, allowing us to store over one billion pages of information in a chip that is one square inch," says Jay Narayan, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU).

Indian develops chip to contain entire library

Raavan PICS.Abhi-Ash Starrer

Raavan PICS.Abhi-Ash Starrer

New Questions Over Google’s Street View in Germany

By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN of nytimes

BERLIN : Google’s plan to offer Street View photo mapping in Germany, which has bumped up against the country’s strict privacy laws, has come in for renewed criticism after regulators learned that the company, a search engine giant, was also archiving the locations of household wireless networks.

Google’s Street View technology has been accepted in countries like Britain and France, but has encountered greater resistance in Germany and Switzerland, where data privacy laws are stricter than in the rest of Europe or in the United States.

New Questions Over Google’s Street View in Germany

Sania, Shoaib's reception in Pakistan

Here are the photos of Sania, Shoaib's reception in Pakistan.(Photo Courtesy : AP).Click to enlarge.

Sania, Shoaib's reception in Pakistan

World's tallest horse at nearly 6-foot-11

Article appeared on ndtv.com

Big Jake might be taller than any other horse in the world, but his owner Jerry Gilbert describes him as a gentle giant.

The 9-year-old Belgian gelding is the Guinness World Record-holder for world's tallest living horse at one quarter inch short of 6-feet, 11 inches.

That's 2.75 inches taller than the previous record-holder, a Clydesdale from Texas named Remington.

Gilbert and his family own Smokey Hollow Farm near Poynette, Wisconsin. He usually shows Big Jake as a draft horse in four-or six-horse hitches and he raises money for the Ronald McDonald House.

World's tallest horse at nearly 6-foot-11

Obama, Lady Gaga influential, Hillary not: Time

Article appeared on ibnlive.in.com

New York: When it comes to influence, US President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and pop star Lady Gaga have it, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton does not, according to a Time magazine list published on Thursday.

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, South Korean skating champion Kim Yu-na, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva also made Time's 100 most-influential people list.

Obama, Lady Gaga influential, Hillary not: Time