Legal notices can be sent via Facebook, rules judge.

Online social networking site Facebook can also be used to serve legal notices on those evading court hearing, an Australian judge has ruled.

An Adelaide court ordered that Facebook be used for sending legal documents on an elusive alleged father involved in a child support dispute.

The federal magistrate, Stewart Brown, said the case was unusual but "demonstrative of social movements and the currency of the times".

The accused, Howard, had a brief relationship with a woman who later gave birth. The father's name was not mentioned in the birth certificate and the mother's child support application was rejected for lack of legal proof of paternity.

Legal notices can be sent via Facebook, rules judge.

Toshiba's LCD Panel Displays 2D, 3D Images at Same Time.

Toshiba Corp developed an LCD panel that can partially convert a 2D image to a 3D image and can be viewed with the naked eye.

The LCD panel was announced at SID 2010, the largest international conference on display technologies that took place from May 23 to 28, 2010, in Seattle, the US.

The LCD panel is compatible with the "integral imaging method," which the Toshiba Group has been developing, and has nine viewpoints. Its screen size is 12 inches. The pixel count is 1,400 x 1,050 for 2D images (full screen) and 466 x 350 for 3D images (full screen).

The panel displays 3D images by using the "GRIN (gradient index) lens," which changes the distribution of refraction indexes by controlling the gradient (orientation) of liquid crystal molecules.

Toshiba's LCD Panel Displays 2D, 3D Images at Same Time.

Advanced Robotic Arm Controlled by Monkey’s Thoughts [Video].

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated a monkey controlling an advanced robotic arm by using its thoughts. The experiments were led by Dr. Andrew Schwartz, a professor of neurobiology and involved a high degree of complexity in the robotic arm, the level of control, and the intricacy of the manipulations.

This is not the first time that Dr. Schwartz implanted sensors in a monkey’s brain to control a robotic arm. Back in May of 2008 experiments were conducted by Dr. Schwartz, using a simpler mechanical arm, to teach a monkey to feed itself. This was a four-degrees-of-freedom arm with shoulder joints, elbow, and a simple gripper.

Advanced Robotic Arm Controlled by Monkey’s Thoughts [Video].

Japanese doctor uses iPad to assist surgery [Video].

During a procedure at Kobe University's hospital, the unnamed doctor used the device to zoom in and out of medical images and video.

It's not clear whether they were pre-downloaded pics being displayed in the iPhotos app, or whether it'd been hacked to run custom software, but the pinch-to-zoom functionality is intact, despite the user wearing latex surgical gloves.

In fact, for sterilisation purposes, the entire gadget was wrapped in cling-film.

Japanese doctor uses iPad to assist surgery [Video].

Scientists solve mystery of resistant flu virus.

Scientists have worked out how the seasonal flu virus has become resistant to the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu and why these drug-resistant strains have spread explosively in the past two years.

The H1N1 seasonal flu virus first became resistant to Tamiflu more than 10 years ago because of a single genetic mutation. But these strains were unable to spread because the same mutation that conferred resistance to Tamiflu also made the virus less infectious.

However, the researchers have discovered further genetic mutations that overcame this drawback to the drug-resistant strain. These mutations allowed the virus to spread explosively after the 2007-08 flu season so that by the following year, Tamiflu was next to useless against virtually all seasonal H1N1 flu viruses – although still effective against other flu viruses .

Scientists solve mystery of resistant flu virus.

8 Scientists Share $3 Million in Prizes.

Scientists competing to build humongous telescopes, elucidate the machinery by which brain cells signal each other and manipulate individual atoms and molecules into submicroscopic structures were among the winners of one of the richest prizes in science, the $1 million Kavli Prize, announced Thursday by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

The prizes, one each in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience, are awarded every other year. This year, eight scientists will share the money, $3 million in all, which comes from the Kavli Foundation, set up by Fred Kavli, a Norwegian-American physicist, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

8 Scientists Share $3 Million in Prizes.

Woman banker claims she was sacked for being too attractive.

Debrahlee Lorenzana, 33, alleges that she was ordered to stop wearing pencil skirts, fitted business suits, tight trousers and high heels because her appearance was too much for her colleagues at Citibank to bear.

She has filed a sex discrimination suit against the bank in New York and is seeking damages for loss of earnings and emotional distress.

"My entire life, I've been dealing with this. People say, 'Oh, you got a job because you look that way'," Miss Lorenzana said. "Are you saying that just because I look this way genetically, that this should be a curse for me?"

Miss Lorenzana was hired by Citibank in September 2008 as a $70,000 per year business banker, based in the Chrysler Building. After her interview – to which she wore a black Armani wrap dress and Christian Louboutin heels – she claims a colleague told her that the branch was "pretty much known for hiring pretty girls".

Woman banker claims she was sacked for being too attractive.

The future notebook Kno (large screen tablets) is here [VIDEO].

A company called Kno, Inc. has announced its flagship product, simply dubbed the Kno. The device joins two 14-inch touchscreens joined with a hinge, and it specifically targets the education sector.

Based on Linux, the Kno also boasts support for Adobe Flash. Developers are encouraged to participate in building out a third-party App Store for the device.

The future notebook Kno (large screen tablets) is here [VIDEO].

George W. Bush Joins Facebook not twitter.

George W. Bush and/or staff have created a Facebook Page.

the third-person updates and marketing materials for former First Lady Laura Bush’s book are striking a less-than-personal note.

Still, fans of the page are effusive in their praise for the Bushes and have already built the page’s interaction count to an impressively high number. In around 15 hours, a total of two updates have spawned more than 2,900 reactions (that’s Likes and comments counted together), and the page has been Liked by more than 57,000 people.

George W. Bush Joins Facebook not twitter.

Skype iPhone 3G App Downloaded 5 Million Times.

On Sunday, Skype 2.0 was launched for the iPhone 3G, bringing a long-sought feature to the table: making calls over 3G. By now, 5 million users have downloaded the application from the iTunes Store.

Unfortunately, the new feature came was accompanied by bad news after August 2010, Skype will start charging a monthly fee for the 3G calling feature on top of whatever fee you’re already paying your mobile operator for data transfer.

Skype promises the fee will be reasonable. “We’re not going to want to price ourselves out of the market. I can’t ignore the fact that consumers (currently) use us for free,” said Russ Shaw, Skype’s general manager for mobile.

Skype iPhone 3G App Downloaded 5 Million Times.

Facebook Privacy Now Has an Official Fan Page.

Facebook’s newly launches Facebook and Privacy Page.

The social networking site announced on its blog that it has created a page all about everyone’s favorite topic: Facebook privacy.

This page has been created because of severe backlash from the users and as well as media agencies. Time magazine even put privacy on its cover. Finally, Facebook launched new, simplified privacy settings in an attempt to make good.

Src: [blog.facebook]

Facebook Privacy Now Has an Official Fan Page.

Twitter Testing New “You Both Follow” Feature.

Twitter is testing a new feature that helps you figure out how you know — or if you want to follow — a given account.

If you catch a glimpse of this feature in the wild, you’ll see a slim strip of avatars on a user’s profile right above the grid of people that user follows. The headline above this reads, “You both follow.”

This new feature is a quick reference tool that shows deeper connections in the social media grid, and it’s a simple addition that makes Twitter seem less like a one-way communication tool and more like a robust, legitimate social network.

Twitter Testing New “You Both Follow” Feature.

Chilli peppers can help you shed weight .

Capsaicin, the stuff that gives chilli peppers their kick, may cause weight loss and fight fat build-up by triggering certain beneficial protein changes in the body, says a new study.

The study could potentially open up new treatments for obesity.

Mr Jong Won Yun, biotechnologist from Daegu University, Korea, and colleagues point out that obesity is a major public health threat worldwide, linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.

Lab studies have hinted that capsaicin may help fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue and lowering fat levels in the blood. Nobody, however, knows exactly how capsaicin might trigger such beneficial effects.

Chilli peppers can help you shed weight .

Yahoo tries new feature for the email which cost the users there privacy.

Yahoo Inc. is hoping to turn on a new sharing option in its popular e-mail service without shocking users who prize their privacy.

That's why the Internet company is advising its 280 million e-mail account holders to review their privacy settings along with their incoming messages.

Yahoo posted the privacy reminder this week as it prepares to unveil new features that will share its e-mail users' online activities and interests with people listed in their address books unless they take steps to prevent the information from being broadcast. The new sharing tools will be appearing in people's e-mail accounts this month.

Yahoo tries new feature for the email which cost the users there privacy.

Nokia unveils bicycle charger.

Nokia unveiled its first bicycle charger targeting consumers with limited access to electricity.

The charger kit consists of a charger, dynamo and a holder to secure the phone to the bike. Priced at about 15 euros (Rs 860), the kit will be available later this year, said a company spokesman.

When the kit is installed, the dynamo - a small electrical generator - uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset through the standard 2mm charging jack used in most Nokia mobile phones.

Designed for tropical climates the Nokia bicycle charger is humidity and dust resistant.

Nokia unveils bicycle charger.

Man punishes son for smoking, stitches up lips.

A man was arrested here on the charge of stitching up his teenage son's lips after he caught the boy smoking at Namchi in Sikkim.

"Netra Bahadur Darjee in Jorethang beat and sewed up his 12-year-old son's mouth on Wednesday night when he was caught smoking in his bedroom," SP South district, Manoj Tewari said.

A case has been registered against Darjee under Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children), he said.

The boy, a student of class-V, was admitted to a hospital, the police said.

Man punishes son for smoking, stitches up lips.

Japanese firm wants to transform the Moon into a giant solar power plant.

The Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese construction firm, has recently proposed a plan to harness solar energy on a larger scale than almost any previously proposed concept. Their ambitious plan involves building a belt of solar cells around the Moon’s 6,800-mile (11,000-kilometer) equator, converting the electricity to powerful microwaves and lasers to be beamed at Earth, and finally converting the beams back to electricity at terrestrial power stations. The Luna Ring concept, the company says, could meet the entire world's energy needs.

Shimizu envisions that robots would play a vital role in building the Luna Ring. Teleoperated 24 hours a day from the Earth, the robots would perform tasks such as ground leveling and assembling machines and equipment, which would be done in space before landing them on the Moon. A team of astronauts would support the robots on-site.

Japanese firm wants to transform the Moon into a giant solar power plant.

Google Chrome OS to Launch in Autumn.

Google’s operating system Chrome OS, originally announced in July 2009, will debut this fall. There are still many unknowns about the OS, but we know that it will be a free operating system based on the Chrome browser, targeted at netbooks and designed to work with web applications.

“We are working on bringing the device later this fall,” Google’s Vice President of Product Management Sundar Pichai said at CompuTex. “It’s something which we are very excited by … We expect it to reach millions of users on day one,” he said.

Google Chrome OS to Launch in Autumn.

Microsoft Responds to Google Dumping Windows: Our OS Is Secure.

After recent rumors that Google is internally abandoning Windows and switching to Linux because of security concerns, Microsoft fires back at critics, claiming it’s doing more than its competitors when it comes to security.

“When it comes to security, even hackers admit we’re doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else. And it’s not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our focus and investment continues to surpass others,” Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc says in a blog post.

He also lists some facts to support his claim, citing several security improvements in Windows (Windows) 7, like Parental Controls, Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), BitLocker disc encryption and an enhanced Windows Firewall. Furthermore, Microsoft ships software and security updates “as soon as possible through Windows Update and Microsoft Update to keep our customers safe,” he says.

Microsoft Responds to Google Dumping Windows: Our OS Is Secure.

Google Now Lets You Create Custom Homepages.

Now you can customize your background on Google.com.

You can now choose any photo or image from your hard drive or your Picasa Web Albums to enhance your search experience. A new link on the bottom left-hand corner of Google.com will soon appear for all users that will give them the ability to change their search background. The rollout begins with the U.S. over the next few days, with international users to follow.

The new feature immediately reminds us of Bing, Microsoft’s upstart search engine. Every day it has a different photo on its homepage, and it has proven to be a popular feature.

Src: [mashable]

Google Now Lets You Create Custom Homepages.