Web addresses exceed world's population

Web addresses exceed world's population

Melbourne, July 30 (ANI): Internet is growing in dimensions every second, so much so that there are more addresses than there are people on Earth, claims the team behind Microsoft's new search engine Bing.

Bing has put the number of web pages at "over 1 trillion", while Google had earlier indexed more than one trillion discreet web addresses.

The current global population stands at more than 6.7 billion, which means that there are about 150 web addresses per person in the world.

And this could mean that if a person spent just one minute reading every website in existence, then he or she would be kept busy for 31,000 years, without any sleep.

"An average person would need six hundred thousand decades of nonstop reading to read through the information," News.com.au quoted Bing as saying.

Mark Higginson, director of analytics for Nielsen Online, said that the global online population had jumped 16 per cent since last year.

"Approximately 1.46 billion people worldwide now use the internet which represents a solid 16 per cent increase from the previous year's estimate (1.26 billion in 2007)," he said.

The largest Internet population belongs to China, with 338 million users online, which is more than there were people in the US.

However InternetWorldStats.com (IWS), a website that combines multiple data sources, has claimed that China's online population is more like 298 million.

"With the rates of India and China still quite low, there is ample room for growth in the coming decade," said Higginson.

But, measuring the online population could be tricky-there are servers, users, per capita numbers, and penetration percentages to evaluate.

And thus it is difficult to find a single figure to represent the world online population.

IWS combined data from the UN's International Telecommunications Union, Nielsen Online, GfK and US Census Bureau, and its latest global figures puts the number of internet users in the world at 1,596,270,108.

And this is just 23.8 per cent of the estimated 6,0706,993,152 people in the world. But it changes every day.

"In terms of the future, we anticipate mobile to contribute significantly to internet usage," said Higginson.

According to IWS, the top 5 countries with the most internet users are:

1 - China (298,000,000 users, or 22.4 percent of their population)

2 - US (227,190,989, or 74.7 percent)

3 - Japan (94,000,000, or 73.8 percent)

4 - India (81,000,000, or 7.1 percent)

5 - Brazil (67,510,400, or 34.4% percent)

MP3 Players : Apple iPod Touch 16GB

MP3 Players : Apple iPod Touch 16GB


Manufacturer's description

If a picture says a thousand words, think of what all the album art in your collection might say. With Cover Flow on iPod touch, you can flick through your music to find the album you want to hear. And when you do, a quick tap of the cover flips it over to display a track list. Another tap starts the music.

Multi-touch interface

* The revolutionary technology that made iPhone a hit is now on one amazing iPod.

Gorgeous 3.5-inch widescreen display

* Touch your music in Cover Flow and watch video on a stunning, widescreen display.

Wi-Fi web browsing

* Browse the web with Safari and watch YouTube videos on the first-ever Wi-Fi iPod.

Music downloads from iTunes

* Search, preview, and buy songs from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store on iPod touch.

Games & Gear : Sony PlayStation 3

Specifications

General Platform - PlayStation 3
Wireless Type - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Hard Drive - Yes
Hard Drive Size - 40 GB
Installed Memory - 256 MB
Accessories Included - Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Disc movie
Processor - Cell Broadband Engine
Game Media - BD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM
Slot Types Provided - CompactFlash Card, Memory Stick, SD Memory Card
Color - Black
Controller - Game pad
Connector Type(s) - 4 x USB, 1 x network, 1 x HDMI output, 1 x PlayStation 3 AV output, 1 x SPDIF output ( TOSLINK )
Included Cables - A/V cable, Network cable, USB cable
Video Memory - 256 MB
Max Video Resolution - 1920 x 1080


Manufacturer's description

Featuring the world's most powerful processor, PlayStation 3 delivers an experience beyond anything you know today. With a built in Blu-ray Disc drive, PlayStation 3 invites you to a whole new generation in high-definition graphics and media capabilities. Whether it's high-definition gaming, Blu-ray movies, music or online services, PlayStation 3 takes you where you've never dreamed possible - a place where you can play beyond.

Fujifilm launching 3-D consumer camera

Fujifilm launching 3-D consumer camera

While the television world haplessly attempts to figure out how to bring 3-D display technology to the home, Fujifilm is charging forward with the bold goal of bringing the third dimension to still camera photos.

The only thing immediately and obviously curious about the company's prototype point-and-shoot camera (pictured above) is the placement of a second lens on its front. One lens is located roughly on each of the upper corners on the front face of the camera, giving the front of the shooter the vague appearance of a smiling robot.

The technology is pretty simple: Snap the shutter and both lenses capture a slightly different image -- the same trick that all 3-D systems use to get that uncanny 3-D effect. More magic is required in the piecing together of the two shots into a single, 3-D image. You need specific technology in order to view 3-D images, and Fujifilm has two options for observers who want to enter the third dimension, neither of which requires special glasses to work.

The first is a custom photo frame which directs the appropriate image to the appropriate eye of the viewer, presumably if he or she stands in just the right spot. The second is the tantalizing option for 3-D prints, with are treated with a plastic coating that "acts as a kind of 3-D lens" that can show off the image in three dimensions. In addition to selling the hardware to take the shots, the company hopes to offer a service to make the prints, ideally with a price of under $5 a pop. Developing pictures? Talk about old school!

The new camera, which doesn't appear to have a model number yet, arrives in Japan this summer and on our shores in September, at an expected price of about $600. Expect to pay a few hundred bucks for the frame, also.

Are you ready to go 3-D with your vacation snapshots?

Google to enter operating system wars with Chrome OS

Google to enter operating system wars with Chrome OS

In what is certain to be the biggest tech story of the summer, Google is finally making official what has been rumored for years: It will create its own computer operating system, Chrome OS, slated for release in late 2010.

While the news is stunning in its potential impact on the industry, it hardly arrives without warning. Google already makes its own cell phone OS, the fledgling Android, which continues to slowly gain devotees. And well before the company unleashed its own web browser, Chrome, many had long since assumed that Google had been preparing to release an operating system. When the Chrome browser was released instead, many observers actually saw it as a bit of a letdown in the news department.

Now it's clear what Google has been up to all along: Chrome is simply the centerpiece of a larger table setting, a full-blown operating system that will run without Windows or the MacOS beneath it.

Google is keeping many details close to the vest -- and, with at least a year before the OS comes out, it really has no choice since the OS has miles to go before it's ready -- but the company has made a few details public. Chrome OS will be open source, like Linux operating systems, upon which Chrome will be based; it will be designed to be "fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds;" and it will be designed with security in mind (though, seriously, everybody says that). The OS will run on both ARM and x86 CPUs, the latter being the most common PC chip architecture on the planet, used on virtually every PC produced today.

Despite the hints about Chrome OS, many, many questions remain. Obviously Chrome is designed with the web in mind, and it will undoubtedly be closely tied into Google's extensive suite of services. But what will its offline components look like, if any? With Linux as a base, it will obviously be able to run Linux-based applications, though it won't be compatible with Windows... or will it? Emulator systems exist that could let Chrome run Windows apps, but they're complex and at odds with the goal of creating a streamlined, super-simple operating system. I am immediately curious as to how big of a hard drive a Chrome OS laptop would have, if it will have one at all.

Another big question involves the hardware this operating system will run on. Google obviously has inexpensive, low-power netbooks in mind for Chrome OS, but will tinkerers be able to install it on computers they already own? Driver issues become a major obstacle at that point, as a "simple" OS can't possibly account for the thousands of hardware variations present in modern PCs (printing alone is going to be a headache as it is). My hunch is that a downloadable version will eventually be available, but that it won't be supported by Google at all should you decide to install it on a non-approved PC.

That leads to the question of whether Google is ignoring a key part of the market. Netbooks are great little toys, but they're hardly the tools of choice for those looking to get real work done. By embracing the web and largely ignoring offline applications, Chrome-based netbooks will by necessity remain tools for the low end of the market, playthings for when you're not really being productive. Like the Linux-based netbooks before them, they just won't do enough for many users.

And that's an ominous issue hanging out there for Chrome OS's future. Linux-based netbooks haven't been a rousing success, as Windows fought back with a vengeance after they hit the market, offering buyers a more familiar working environment and compatibility with their other computers while keeping prices down. Consumers have so far warmed up to the idea of having more features on their netbooks, not fewer, relegating Linux on netbooks to the background. Will a spiffy, Googleized version of Linux change consumer opinion? Maybe, but probably not dramatically.

Contrary to public opinion, everything that Google touches does not turn to gold, and to be frank, Google has a serious uphill battle ahead for its OS ambitions. I'm cautiously optimistic that Google will put something brilliant together here, and can't wait to get my eyes on the software, but the challenges it faces are extreme. Put together something too unique and different and consumers may be put off and confused. Or you could make an OS that clings closely to the Windows interface, but what would be the point of that?

As the technology fades, plasma TVs see huge discounts

As the technology fades, plasma TVs see huge discounts

The exodus toward flat-screen TVs continues, and that's been driving prices down across the board.

But if you're looking for the real deals, plasma is where it's at for now, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

What's going on? Put simply, plasma is a technology on its way out. Pioneer and Vizio have already announced this year that they're exiting the market, as manufacturers continue to pour their resources into LCD technology. LCD, used widely across the consumer electronics industry in not just televisions but also computer monitors, laptops, and even cameras and cell phones, has boundless momentum. Plasma, with its higher power requirements, larger size and weight, and finicky reliability, has remained TV-centric since its invention, despite some key benefits that have given the technology something of a cult following.

Meanwhile, there are still plenty of plasmas on the market, and not just close-out models. And diligent shoppers can find exceptional deals on plasma sets: Roughly 20 percent cheaper vs. LCD sets of the same size.

The WSJ story linked above note that a 50-inch LCD will run you $1,500 on average, while a 50-inch plasma runs about $1,200. Although prices vary widely from brand to brand and depend a lot on the features you select, in general the trend follows across the industry. Drop into any big-box electronics store and you're sure to see big discounts on all the plasma sets for sale.

Naturally there's a catch: As plasma vanishes from the market, you'll have an increasing amount of trouble finding someone who can service the set if it breaks. You'll also be stuck buying a very large set if you want a plasma: The technology starts at 42 inches diagonally, and you'll probably need a friend to help you move the thing, too.

Not everyone's giving up on plasma, though: Panasonic, which has long been the extreme market share leader in the plasma category, continues to invest in the technology and just constructed a new $3 billion plant to build the screens. What, didn't they get the memo?

"Invisible flash" could eliminate bright camera bulb pops

"Invisible flash" could eliminate bright camera bulb pops

Smile, you're on not-so-candid camera.

The bright and sudden pop of a flash bulb means photos are being snapped, and while it's (arguably) fun to have your picture taken, the harsh glare of a flash bulb often leaves subjects squinting and annoyed.

But what else can you do if natural light isn't an option?

Enter the so-called "invisible flash" or "dark flash," which utilizes light waves outside the visible spectrum to illuminate your subject. Infrared and ultraviolet light is pulsed, with visible light frequencies filtered out, and a special camera sensor captures the invisible-to-the-naked-eye frequencies to create a finished image.

The resulting image isn't perfect -- the pictures are described as having the character of night-vision shots --so the new system, developed by two researchers at New York University, grabs color information from a flash-free picture which is snapped after the UV-illuminated shot is taken. Detail from the first shot and color data from the second are then combined in software, with what is called a "remarkably natural end result."

The system isn't perfect. Not all objects reflect UV or IR light, so the camera can't pick them up properly. The New Scientist story linked above notes that freckles present a particular challenge for the system. (I guess that's one way to clear up your skin in photographs, without resorting to Photoshop.)

Still, the prospect of taking shots in low light without the harsh glare and distraction of a flash bulb pop is a tantalizing one, even if the results are imperfect. The paparazzi, renowned for sneaky night-time shots, must be positively drooling over the possibility.

August 7, 2009 - Interesting Fact

August 7, 2009 - Interesting Fact

At 12hr 34 minutes and 56 seconds on the 7th of August this year, the time and date will be

12:34:56 07/08/09

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

This will never happen in your life again... ;)

Longest Solar Eclipse a Once in a Lifetime Occurrence

The longest solar eclipse of this century will occur on Wednesday, July 22, 2009.

Large areas of India and China are expected to go dark for a period of about five minutes.

Scores of visitors are expected to travel into the area to witness and study the rare event.

On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, some parts of the world will be witnessing one of the most spectacular celestial phenomenon of total solar eclipse of the 21st century. This total solar eclipse which will occur due to the hiding of the Sun behind the Moon will turn the day into dark for about 6 minutes and 58 seconds.

This total solar eclipse will be visible in India, especially in the following cities-Surat, Baroda, Indore, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Danapur and Guwahati. A partial eclipse can be seen in Southeast Asia including over entire India and China.

People of the Udupi district can also see nearly 75 per cent of the solar eclipse. According to a report the greatest phase of partial eclipse will be at 6 hours 20 minutes and will last till 7 hours 16 minutes.

The Taregna village near Danapur in the district of Patna in Bihar has become the focus of the astronomers as they believe that the total solar eclipse can be seen in its full glory. It is said that the ancient astronomer, Aryabhatta, who was born in Pataliputra (modern Patna) in 476 AD used to observe the heavenly bodies from this village.

The total solar eclipse of July 22 2009 will be visible across south-east Asia and the western Pacific. This will be a spectacular total eclipse, lasting over 6½ minutes at maximum and visible to millions of people over a path up to 258 km wide.

The total eclipse begins just off the coast of India at 00:51:17 UT on July 22, and ends in Polynesia at 04:19:26 UT on July 22. The maximum eclipse is at 02:35:21 UT on July 22, when the total phase will last a stunning 6 minutes and 39 seconds. The partial eclipse will be visible over south-east Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Pacific between 23:58:19 UT on July 21 and 05:12:25 UT on July 22.