Safe, Swedish and sexy - S60

Considering its status as rivals to Mercedes, BMW and Audi in the luxury car segment, Volvo hasn’t got a start it wished for in India. Now, it has tweaked its strategy to launch the latest version of its entry level sedan, the S60.

 

For many, Volvo symbolises safety. The Swedish brand is a pioneer in car safety. Their cars are never as beautiful as Audis, or offer as smooth a drive as BMWs, but they keep matching them in sales because they are the safest of the lot. They are not exactly deaf at Gothenburg, and are working on the looks and comfort. The brand new S60 is a good example of Volvo’s evolution.

The design is typically Scandinavian—subtle classic touches mixed with fresh, sporty characteristics. The result is a very smart, good looking sedan. The bonnet is muscular, flowing down into the front grill. Headlights are neat, with little indicators on the snout. Volvos have always come with a conservative, old fashioned design, which never endeared it with generation next. However the S60 is different. While it carries the parent firm’s DNA, the chromosomes are definitely different. Even the side stance is clean, while the rear is sporty, with signature Volvo lights.

Inside, the Volvo S60 is a delight, with plush finish. The top-end version gets neat leather, with gadgets that not all its competitors can boast of. Additionally the interior is cavernous, a far cry from the days when space was a perennial complaint. Check out the 18- inch alloy wheels and extra large boot.

The S60 sedan is available in both petrol and diesel variants—T6 AWD Petrol with 304 hp and 440 Nm (touted as the most powerful engine in its segment), and D5 diesel, with 205 hp and 420 Nm. Besides this, the S60 will offer unique features such as the world’s first ‘Pedestrian Detection’ with full auto brake, Advanced Control with Torque Vectoring, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Laser Assisted Automatic Braking with City Safety, and Active Bending Lights, that bend with each turn of the power steering, among others.

The best for the last: the S60 comes with a smashing price tag starting Rs 27 lakh, which is lower than the competition with entry level luxury sedans.

AIRBUS-380

Powerplants
A380-800 - Four 311kN (70,000lb), initially derated to 302kN (68,000lb), later growing to 374kN (84,000lb) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or 363kN (81,500lb) thrust Engine Alliance (General Electric-Pratt & Whitney) GP-7200 turbofans.

Performance
A380-800 - Max cruising speed M 0.88. Long range cruising speed M 0.85. Range 14,800km (8,000nm). Service ceiling 43.000ft (13,100m).
 A380-800F- Range 10,370km (5,600nm).

Weights
A380-800 - Operating empty 277,000kg (610,700lb), max takeoff 560,000kg (1,234,600lb).
A380-800F - Operating empty 252,000kg (555,600lb), max takeoff 590,000kg (1,300,700lb).
 
Dimensions
A380-800 - Wing span 79.8m (261ft 10in), length 72,75m (238ft 8in). Height 24,08 m (79ft)
 
Capacity
A380-800 - Flightcrew of two. Standard seating for 555 passengers on two decks in a three class arrangement. Qantas plans to fit its aircraft with 523 seats (in three classes). A380 has 49% more floor area but only 35% more seats (in 555 seat configuration) than the 747-400, allowing room for passenger amenities such as bars, gymnasiums and duty free shops. Cargo capacity 38 LD3s or 13 pallets.

Production
149 firm orders (including 27 freighters) by January 2005. Airbus has forecast a market for approx 1235 airliners of 400 seats and above through to 2020. First deliveries in early 2006.
 
History
The 555 seat, double deck Airbus A380 is the most ambitious civil aircraft program yet. When it enters service in March 2006, the A380 will be the world's largest airliner, easily eclipsing Boeing's 747.

Airbus first began studies on a very large 500 seat airliner in the early 1990s. The European manufacturer saw developing a competitor and successor to the Boeing 747 as a strategic play to end Boeing's dominance of the very large airliner market and round out Airbus' product line-up.

Airbus began engineering development work on such an aircraft, then designated the A3XX, in June 1994. Airbus studied numerous design configurations for the A3XX and gave serious consideration to a single deck aircraft which would have seated 12 abreast and twin vertical tails. However Airbus settled upon a twin deck configuration, largely because of the significantly lighter structure required.

Key design aims include the ability to use existing airport infrastructure with little modifications to the airports , and direct operating costs per seat 15-20% less than those for the 747-400. With 49% more floor space and only 35% more seating than the previous largest aircraft, Airbus is ensuring wider seats and aisles for more passenger comfort. Using the most advanced technologies, the A380 is also designed to have 10-15% more range, lower fuel burn and emissions, and less noise.
The A380 features an advanced version of the Airbus common two crew cockpit, with pull-out keyboards for the pilots, extensive use of composite materials such as GLARE (an aluminium/glass fibre composite), and four 302 to 374kN (68,000 to 84,000lb) class Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance (General Electric/Pratt & Whitney) GP7200 turbofans now under development.

Several A380 models are planned: the basic aircraft is the 555 seat A380-800 (launch customer Emirates). The 590 ton MTOW 10,410km (5620nm) A380-800F freighter will be able to carry a 150 tonne payload and is due to enter service in 2008 (launch customer FedEx). Potential future models will include the shortened, 480 seat A380-700, and the stretched, 656 seat, A380-900.

On receipt of the required 50th launch order commitment, the Airbus A3XX was renamed A380 and officially launched on December 19, 2000. In early 2001 the general configuration design was frozen, and metal cutting for the first A380 component occurred on January 23, 2002 , at Nantes in France . In 2002 more than 6000 people were working on A380 development.

On January 18, 2005, the first Airbus A380 was officially revealed in a lavish ceremony, attended by 5000 invited guests including the French, German, British and Spanish president and prime ministers, representing the countries that invested heavily in the 10-year, EURO 10 billion+ ($13 billion+) aircraft program, and the CEOs of the 14 A380 customers, who had placed firm orders for 149 aircraft by then.

The out of sequence A3 80 designation was chosen as the " 8" represents the cross-section of the twin decks. The first flight is scheduled for March 2005, and the entry into commercial service, with Singapore Airlines , is scheduled for March 2006 .

Apart from the prime contractors in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, components for the A380 airframe are also manufactured by industrial partners in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. A380 final assembly is taking place in Toulouse , France, with interior fitment in Hamburg, Germany. Major A380 assemblies are transported to Toulouse by ship, barge and road .

On July 24, 2000 , Emirates became the first customer making a firm order commitment, followed by Air France, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic. Together these companies completed the 50 orders needed to launch the program.

Later, the following companies also ordered the A380: FedEx (the launch customer for the A380-800F freighter), Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Etihad Airways, Thai Airways and UPS.

iPad

The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. Its size and weight falls between those of contemporary smartphones and laptop computers. The iPad runs the same operating system as the iPod Touch and iPhone—and can run its own applications as well as iPhone applications. Without modification, and with the exception of websites, it will only run programs approved by Apple and distributed via its online store.

Like iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad is controlled by a multitouch display—a departure from most previous tablet computers, which used a pressure-triggered stylus—as well as a virtual onscreen keyboard in lieu of a physical keyboard. The iPad uses a Wi-Fi data connection to browse the Internet, load and stream media, and install software. Some models also have a 3G wireless data connection which can connect to HSPA or EV-DO data networks. The device is managed and synced by iTunes on a personal computer via USB cable.



Apple released the first iPad in April 2010, and sold 3 million of the devices in 80 days. During 2010, Apple sold 14.8 million iPads worldwide, representing 75 percent of tablet PC sales at the end of 2010. By the release of the iPad 2 in March 2011, more than 15 million iPads had been sold— more than all other tablet PCs combined. In 2011, it is expected to take 83 percent of the tablet computing market share in the United States

The iPad's touchscreen display is a 9.7 in (25 cm) liquid crystal display (1024 × 768 pixels) with fingerprint-resistant and scratch-resistant glass. Steve Jobs backed the choice of screen size, saying a 7-inch screen would be "too small to express the software." He said 10 inches was the minimum for a tablet screen. Like the iPhone, the iPad is designed to be controlled by bare fingers; normal gloves and styli that prevent electrical conductivity may not be used, although there are special gloves and capacitive styli designed for this use.




The display responds to other sensors: an ambient light sensor to adjust screen brightness and a 3-axis accelerometer to sense iPad orientation and switch between portrait and landscape modes. Unlike the iPhone and iPod touch built-in applications, which work in three orientations (portrait, landscape-left and landscape-right), the iPad built-in applications support screen rotation in all four orientations, including upside-down. Consequently, the device has no intrinsic "native" orientation; only the relative position of the home button changes. The iPad 2 added a 3-axis gyroscope that is used only third party apps, usually games.



There are four physical switches on the iPad, including a home button near the display that returns the user to the main menu, and three plastic physical switches on the sides: wake/sleep and volume up/down, plus a third which, whose function has changed with software updates. Originally, the switch would lock the screen to its current orientation, but the iOS 4.2 changed it to a mute switch, with rotation lock now available in an onscreen menu. In the iOS 4.3 update, released with the iPad 2, a setting was added to allow the user to specify whether the side switch was used for rotation lock or mute.



Apple reduced the size of the iPad 2 by 33% compared to its predecessor by eliminating the stamped sheet metal frame from the display, integrating new thinner glass technology for the touch screen overlay, and slightly reducing the space between the display and battery. The iPad 2's screen is thinner, lighter, and yet stronger than the original iPad's.



The original iPad had no camera. The iPad 2 has front VGA camera and a rear-facing 720p camera, both capable of still images and 30fps video. The rear facing camera has a 5x digital zoom for still images only. Both shoot photo and video in a 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio, unlike the iPhone 4, which shoots in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. It also lacks the iPhone's tap to focus feature. The cameras allow FaceTime video messaging with iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, and Snow Leopard Macs

ConnectivityThe iPad can use Wi-Fi network trilateration from Skyhook Wireless to provide location information to applications such as Google Maps. The 3G model contains A-GPS to allow its position to be calculated with GPS or relative to nearby cellphone towers; it also has a black plastic accent on the back side to improve 3G radio sensitivity.




For wired connectivity, the iPad has only a TRRS headphone jack and a proprietary Apple dock connector; it lacks the Ethernet and USB ports of larger computers.



Audio and outputthe iPad has two internal mono speakers located on the bottom-right of the unit. In the original iPad, the speakers push sound through two small sealed channels leading to the three audio ports carved into the device, while the iPad 2 has its speakers behind a single grill.



A volume switch is on the right side of the unit. A 3.5-mm TRRS connector audio-out jack on the top-left corner of the device provides stereo sound for headphones with or without microphones and/or volume controls. The iPad also contains a microphone that can be used for voice recording.



The built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR interface allows wireless headphones and keyboards to be used with the iPad. However, the iOS does not currently support file transfer via Bluetooth. iPad also features 1024 x 768 VGA video output for limited applications, screen capture, connecting an external display or television through an accessory adapter.



Power and batteryThe iPad uses an internal rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery (LiPo). The batteries are made in Taiwan by Simplo Technology, which makes 60% of them, and Dynapack International Technology. The iPad is designed to be charged with a high current (2 amperes) using the included 10 W USB power adapter. While it can be charged by a standard USB port from a computer, these are limited to 500 milliamperes (half an amp). As a result, if the iPad is turned on while connected to a normal USB computer port, it may charge much more slowly, or not at all. High-power USB ports found in newer Apple computers and accessories provide full charging capabilities.



The iPad 2 battery is 2.5 mm thick, 59% smaller than the original and has three cells instead of two, allowing the injection-molded plastic support frame to be omitted.



Apple claims that the battery for both generations of iPad can provide up to 10 hours of video, 140 hours of audio playback, or one month on standby. Like any battery technology, the iPad's LiPo battery loses capacity over time, but is not designed to be user-replaceable. In a program similar to the battery-replacement program for the iPod and the original iPhone, Apple will replace an iPad that does not hold an electrical charge with a refurbished iPad for a fee of $99 (plus $6.95 shipping).

Storage and SIM
The iPad was released with three capacity options for storage: 16, 32, or 64 GB of internal flash memory. All data is stored on the internal flash memory, with no option to expand storage. Apple sells a camera connection kit with an SD card reader, but it can only be used to transfer photos and videos.




The side of the Wi-Fi + 3G model has a micro-SIM slot (not mini-SIM). Unlike the iPhone, which is usually sold locked to specific carriers, the 3G iPad is sold unlocked and can be used with any compatible GSM carrier. Japan is the exception to this, where the iPad 3G is locked to Softbank. In the U.S., data network access via T-Mobile's network is limited to slower EDGE cellular speeds because T-Mobile's 3G Network uses different frequencies. The iPad 2 introducd a third tier of models with CDMA support for Verizon Wireless in the United States, available separately from the AT&T capable version

Chatroulette

Chatroulette is a website that pairs random strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations. Visitors to the website randomly begin an online chat (video, audio and text) with another visitor. At any point, either user may leave the current chat by initiating another random connection. After offering an experimental "localized" version which paired people by state or country, the website went offline briefly in August 2010, but returned to service on September 1.

The Chatroulette web site was created by Andrey Ternovskiy, a 17-year-old high school student in Moscow, Russia. Ternovskiy says the concept arose from video chats he used to have with friends on Skype, and that he wrote the first version of Chatroulette in "two days and two nights". Ternovskiy chose the name "Chatroulette" after watching The Deer Hunter, a 1978 film set in the Vietnam War in which prisoners of war are forced to play Russian roulette.




In early November 2009, shortly after the site launched, it had 500 visitors per day. One month later there were 50,000. The site has been featured in The New York Times,  The New Yorker, New York magazine, and on Good Morning America, Newsnight in the United Kingdom, Tosh. and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Chatroulette was even parodied in the South Park season 14 episode "You Have 0 Friends". In February 2010, there were about 35,000 people on Chatroulette at any given time. Around the beginning of March, Ternovskiy estimated the site to have around 1.5 million users, approximately 33% of them from the United States and 5% from Germany.



The website uses Adobe Flash to display video and access the user's webcam. Flash's peer-to-peer network capabilities (via RTMFP) allow almost all video and audio streams to travel directly between user computers, without using server bandwidth. However, certain combinations of routers will not allow UDP traffic to flow between them, and then it is necessary to fall back to RTMP.



An early growth phase was funded by a $10,000 investment from Ternovskiy's parents which he soon paid back.[3] As of March 2010[update], Ternovskiy was running the site from his childhood bedroom, assisted by four programmers who were working remotely, and the site was supported through advertising links to an online dating service.



According to one informal study published in March 2010, nearly half of all Chatroulette spins connected a user with someone in the USA, while the next most likely country was France with 15%. On average in sessions showing a single person, 89% of these were male and 11% were female. 8% of spins showed multiple people behind the camera. 1 in 3 females appeared as such a group. That number is 1 in 12 for males. A user was more likely to encounter a webcam featuring no person at all than one featuring a sole female. 1 in 8 spins yielded possibly objectionable content. A user was twice as likely to encounter a sign requesting female nudity than to encounter actual female nudity

A participant whose chat partner clicks the Chatroulette Next button to move on to a new partner is described as being "nexted".




Celebrities claiming to have used Chatroulette include Kelly Osbourne, Daniel Tosh, Joel Madden, Nicole Richie, Kevin Smith, Paris Hilton, Ashton Kutcher, and Justin Bieber.



On February 27, 2010 at the Soundwave Festival in Melbourne, Australia, Faith No More streamed their festival performance live on Chatroulette.



Niche sites with functionality imitating Chatroulette have been growing in number, although none have yet gained its popularity and notoriety.



An NCIS TV episode (Season 7, Episode 22: Borderland) featured a comedy relief section where character Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) was continually 'next-ed' by the chatroulette community. It was later revealed that Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) had rigged his computer to disconnect each chat after a few seconds.



The second episode of CSI: NY that aired on October 1, 2010 featured a Chatroulette-like program on which one of the lab techs witnesses a woman murdered right in front of him.




visit
http://www.chatroulette.com/

Samsung PC 7 slider tablet unveiled at CES 2011

Samsung PC 7 slider is a 10.1-inch tablet device with 1366 x 768 resolution and weighs only 2.2 pounds. It is powered with an Intel Z670 Oak Trail processor clocked at 1.66GHz with 2GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of SSD space. Samsung Sliding PC 7 will be available from March with a starting price of $699.

 

The display of Samsung PC 7 slides up to reveal a physical full-QWERTYkeyboard giving the user the option of a multi-touch display or keyboard and mouse interface. Samsung Sliding PC 7 tablet comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and a specially designed Touch Launcher, to help users to launch their favorite applications with ease.

 

Port wise, the new Samsung slider features USB, HDMI and a 4-in-1 memory card reader. Moreover, Sliding PC 7 tablet has built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam. For connectivity, it supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and users also get an option of adding WiMax. 3G is also available on PC 7 slider tablet from Samsung as an additional option. Also see: Android tablets in India

Samsung has included a 6-cell lithium-polymer battery into the tablet that offers around 9 hours of run time on a single charge. Samsung claims that the new Sliding PC 7 Series tablet can boot from a cold start in under 20 seconds.

Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series features Samsung AllShare function that enables users to control, search, swap and play videos, photos, and music across a full range of DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified Samsung devices, ranging from cameras and smart phones to TVs and PCs.

In addition, applications like Microsoft Bing Maps and voice search come pre-loaded on Samsung Sliding PC 7. More touch-based applications can be downloaded via Samsung App Manager and Windows Product Scout.

At the launch of Samsung Sliding PC 7 Series at the CES 2011 in Las Vegas, Scott Ledterman, director of mobile PC product marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division said, “With the proliferation of tablet devices, there is a demand from consumers that want the elegance, ease-of-use and portable form factor of a tablet but also the familiarity of a notebook. At first glance, the Samsung PC 7 Series is a compact, light-weight tablet featuring an intuitive touchscreen. However, once the display is slid into place, it reveals a physical keyboard that offers users the familiar keyboard/touchpad interface. The Samsung 7 Series is creating a category unto itself, with a total solution that is not only chic and convenient for content consumption, but also versatile enough for more intensive computing and content creation.”