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Views: 5340
At PDC today, Microsoft gave the first public demonstration of Windows 7. Until now, the company has been uncharacteristically secretive about its new OS; over the past few months, Microsoft has let on that the taskbar will undergo a number of changes, and that many bundled applications would be unbundled and shipped with Windows Live instead. There have also been occasional screenshots of some of the new applets like Calculator and Paint. Now that the covers are finally off, the scale of the new OS becomes clear. The user interface has undergone the most radical overhaul and update since the introduction of Windows 95 thirteen years ago. First, however, it's important to note what Windows 7 isn't. Windows 7 will not contain anything like the kind of far-reaching architectural modifications that Microsoft made with Windows Vista. Vista brought a new display layer and vastly improved security, but that came at a cost: a significant number of (badly-written) applications had difficulty running on Vista. Applications expecting to run with Administrator access were still widespread when Vista was released, and though many software vendors do a great job, there are still those that haven't updated or fixed their software. Similarly, at its launch many hardware vendors did not have drivers that worked with the new sound or video subsystems, leaving many users frustrated. While windows 7 doesn't undo these architectural changes—they were essential for the long-term health of the platform—it equally hasn't made any more. Any hardware or software that works with Windows Vista should also work correctly with Windows 7, so unlike the transition from XP to Vista, the transition from Vista to 7 won't show any regressions; nothing that used to work will stop working. So, rather than low-level, largely invisible system changes, the work on Windows 7 has focused much more on the user experience. The way people use computers is changing; for example, it's increasingly the case that new PCs are bought to augment existing home machines rather than replacement, so there are more home networks and shared devices. Business users are switching to laptops, with the result that people expect to seamlessly use their (Domain-joined) office PC on their home network. As well as these broader industry trends, Microsoft also has extensive data on how people use its software. Through the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP), an optional, off-by-default feature of many Microsoft programs, the company has learned a great deal about the things that users do. For example, from CEIP data Microsoft knows that 70% of users have between 5 and 15 windows open at any one time, and that most of the time they only actively use one or two of those windows. With this kind of data, Microsoft has streamlined and refined the user experience. Check out the slideshow of the screenshots of Microsoft Windows 7.http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081028-first-look-at-windows-7.html
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First impressions The Mini 1000 is easily one of the most attractive netbooks we have seen yet with a smooth black plastic casing that has the HP imprint technology on the lid. The device is less than an inch thick, one of HP's design goals, and starts at 2.2 pounds making the Mini 1000 one of the thinnest and lightest netbooks around. The build quality is superb and feels very sturdy in the hand and could easily take the rigors of traveling. The first thing we checked out on the Mini 1000 was the keyboard as the outstanding keyboard on the Mini-Note is easily the best on any netbook. We are happy to report that HP listened to the praise of that keyboard and the Mini 1000 has retained the same keyboard. This keyboard is 92% the size of a full keyboard and it is tailor-made for touch typing like a banshee. It feels good to use and has no poorly placed keys which is common on other netbooks. This is still the best keyboard we have used to date on a netbook and kudos to HP for sticking with what works.(by James Kendrick source)
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Microsoft announced this morning at its PDC conference that the next release of Microsoft Office will include browser-based versions of some of its main office software products - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. These will be "lightweight versions", but Microsoft told us yesterday that they'll still have rich functionality and will be comparable to Google's suite of online office applications. The apps will enable users to create, edit and collaborate on Microsoft Office documents through the browser. The apps will work in IE, Firefox and Safari browsers (no word on whether Google Chrome will be supported). Update: Commenter Sean, who says he works on the project, said that this will be 100% HTML + AJAX - rather than Silverlight or a proprietary MS plug-in. The online versions will share the same names as their desktop counterparts (Word, Excel, etc), although unfortunately they don't fully escape the awkward and confusing branding that Microsoft gives to most of its Internet apps. The collective name for these apps is "Office Web Applications". To remind you, there is also an Office Online (a separate Microsoft site where users can download templates) and an Office Live Workspace (for sharing office files between desktop and Web - our coverage). The "Office Web applications" will be available to consumers through Office Live, a service which has both ad-funded and subscription options. Business users will be offered Office Web applications as a hosted subscription service and through existing "volume licensing agreements". There will be a private technology preview of the Office Web applications later this year. Last month we ran a poll asking which word processing tool you primarily use. We got over 2,600 separate votes and a resounding 49% of people still use Microsoft Word as their main word processing tool. Its open source desktop equivalent OpenOffice got 16%. Google Docs was the best placed Web Office app, with 15%. The results showed that there is still a big place for desktop Office apps. Nevertheless, with the announcement yesterday of Microsoft Azure - a so-called cloud computing OS - Microsoft is clearly serving a growing demand for browser-based office software. We expect these apps to become more full featured over time.
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A colorful festival that is celebrated by all Hindus worldwide is Deepavali(Diwali), which is also known as the festival of lights. This festival usually falls around late October and November. One important practice that the Hindus follow during the festival is to light oil lamps in their homes on Deepavali morning. By lighting the oil lamps, the Hindus are thanking the gods for the happiness, knowledge, peace and wealth that they have received. The Hindus consider Deepavali as one of the most important festivals to celebrate.The Legend -There is even an interesting legend behind this festival. The story goes that Narakasura, a demon, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. Under his rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace. Seeing his wickedness, Lord Khrishna set out to destroy the demon and the day Narakasura died was celebrated as Deepavali, the triumph of good over evil!Preparations -Preparation for Deepavali starts usually at least two to three weeks before the festival. It is known that the Hindus will be busy cleaning their houses to prepare for the festival. Some would even renovate their houses to prepare it for Deepavali. Usually the family will shop for new clothes and for accessories to decorate their homes. Prior to the festival, Indian shops will be selling festive items like Deepavali greeting cards, carpets, Punjabi suits and flowers. The Hindus will frequent these shops when they are shopping for Deepavali.Celebrations -The Hindus usually awake early in the morning of deepavali around 3am and the first ritual will be having an oil bath, which is an important feature of Deepavali. Hindus will be dressed in their new clothes on Deepavali. Most of the ladies would be clad in silk saris or Punjabi suits of various bright shades. Hindus particularly dislike dressing in black on that day, as they consider black an inauspicious color for the festival. Hindus would also pay their respects to the elderly and most families would go to the temple after having breakfast. This is also an important practice for them. The reason why they would be going to the temples is to pray to get happiness and prosperity on Deepavali. The houses would be decorated with oil lamps and children will play with firecrackers to celebrate the festival. On the first day, they would not go visiting but would stay at home to welcome the guests who visit them.Food -Visiting Hindus during Deepavali will be an interesting activity, as you will get to taste a wide variety of delicious food. In every home that you visit you are bound to be served with a tempting spread of sweets. Some of the popular sweets are halwa, burfi and laddu. Hindus love eating spicy food and for non-vegetarians they indulge in favorites like chicken tandoori, prawn sambal and fish head curry. In homes of Hindus who are vegetarians popular dishes like thosais, idlis and naans are prepared.(source: http://www.essortment.com/)
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India launched its first mission to the moon Wednesday, rocketing a satellite up into the pale dawn sky in a two-year mission to redraw maps of the lunar surface. Clapping and cheering scientists tracked the ascent on computer screens after they lost sight of Chandrayaan-1 from the Sriharikota space center in southern India. Chandrayaan means "Moon Craft" in ancient Sanskrit. Indian Space Research Organization chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the mission is to "unravel the mystery of the moon." "We have started our journey to the moon and the first leg has gone perfectly well," he said. Chief among the mission's goals is mapping not only the surface of the moon, but what lies beneath. If successful, India will join what's shaping up as a 21st century space race with Chinese and Japanese crafts already in orbit around the moon. To date only the U.S., Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China have sent missions to the moon.(from yahoo)
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Bathukamma Festival Celebrations in Detroit:Detroit Telangana Community has organized the Bathukamma Celebrations in Farmington (Detroit, Michigan) on October 4, 2008. A lot of people attended this celebrations. Many women graced this occasion in traditional attire and made it colorful. As part of these celebrations, several cultural activites were organized. About Bathukamma:Batukamma is a festival celebrated by the women of Telangana region in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. This festival usually is in the months of September/October called as Aswiyuja, concludes two days before Dussera called as Durgashtami.The name Batukamma is given to a flower stack, arranged with seasonal flowers, usually in seven concentric layers, of potter’s clay like a Cone.Batuku in Telugu means live/life, and Amma means mother, hence Batukamma celebrates the glory of Gauri goddess (meaning fair or white) - the patron Goddess of womanhood.In the evenings, women gather different seasonal flowers, dip in colours, some scented and arrange them on a wide plate called as tambalamu, stack them up in a conical mound.Later they gather in large numbers with their batukammas in their locality, place them in the middle and dance around them, synchronizing steps and claps in unison, and singing soul stirring batukamma folk songs. Women dancing around their Batukammas After singing and dancing, Batukammalu are set afloat in a lake or a pond nearby.This festival goes on for seven days and concludes on Durgastami. The main festival day is called Saddula Batukamma. On this day they celebrate into wee hours before leaving their Batukamma in water.
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DETROIT (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle on Tuesday, allowing outsiders their first full look at the car GM says will go on sale in 2010."The Volt symbolizes GM's commitment to the future," said Rick Wagoner, the company's chairman and CEO.The Volt will be driven by electricity stored in a large T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack running the length of the car. After charging for several hours, the Volt will be able to run for up to about 40 miles without using gasoline.GM did not announce pricing for the car, which will have the equivalent of about 150 horsepower and a top speed of 100 mph, the automaker said.To charge the batteries, drivers will plug a cord into one of the ports just ahead of the driver's side mirror. The cord can then be attached to an ordinary home electrical outlet.The car will cost "less than purchasing a cup of your favorite coffee" to recharge, and use less electricity annually than a refrigerator. The Volt should cost less than 2 cents per mile to drive on electricity, GM said, compared to 12 cents a mile on gasoline at a price of $3.60 a gallon.As the battery begins to run down as the car is in use, a small gasoline engine will turn on and generate enough electricity to drive the car about 300 miles.The car's zero-to-sixty time will be under nine seconds, said GM vehicle line director Tony Posawatz. That would make the performance about average for a modern car."The center of gravity of the car, with the center battery pack, it's going to have real great ride and handling," said Posawatz.
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Why Every American Should Care About China.The Emerging Superpower Is Forging Relationships Where the U.S. Isn't. China Inside Out - Documentary on ABC. By BOB WOODRUFF, GABRIELLE TENENBAUM, SUSAN SCHAEFER and MEENA HARTENSTEIN. For complete news visit: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/China/story?id=5510369&page=1
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Fantastic film of Italian police riders putting on a motorbike display in the 50s.
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Top 12 Games of Summer 2008 with trailers* Guitar Hero: On Tour * Battlefield: Bad Company * Beijing 2008 * Soul Calibur IV * Madden NFL 09 * Samba De Amigo * Mario Super Sluggers * Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 * Mercenaries 2: World in Flames * Lego Batman * Spore * Star Wars: The Force UnleashedConsole wars heat up for 2008: Sony impresses, Microsoft surprises, Nintendo disappoints....courtesy: http://videogames.yahoo.com/http://www.gametrailers.com/http://www.gamershell.com/http://www.youtube.com/and others....