'What if an Amazon delivery drone crashes into me?' and 6 other key questions

Will spotting Amazon's fleet of "Prime Air" drones soon be "as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today"? That's what Amazon is saying, after CEO Jeff Bezos explained Sunday that the company would, in the future, deliver packages by quadcopter. However, that future may be a bit further out than the revolutionary retailer can say. 

Coming from a company that employs robots in its warehouses, the drone vision isn't too surprising. And sure, delivery drones are already a reality: The Marine Corps have been using two remote-controlled K-MAX helicopters to deliver supplies in Afghanistan. It was so successful that the military extended their deployment indefinitely in 2011.

But while they may be welcome in countries with little or no infrastructure, delivery drones flying through tightly regulated skies over the world's biggest cities present a logistical nightmare, and are, to date, mostly wishful thinking. Newspaper delivery drones in France? A prank. Pizza delivery by Domino’s drones? A PR gimmick. TacoCopter? A hoax. The drone that tried to deliver contraband into a Georgia prison? Busted.

"A quadcopter airlifting you the next iteration of '50 Shades of Grey,'" is "going to be a gimmick” at least "for the next five years," Drunken Predator Drone, the persona behind the parody Twitter account @DrunkenPredator, wrote to NBC News in a surprisingly lucid email. 

Sober responses came from other experts as well: "If the FAA Roadmap is an indication of where the regulations are going to be in the future ... then I think Amazon is going to have a difficult time using the tech for delivery,” said Brendan Schulman, a lawyer at the firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Franke in New York. Schulman should know: He's defending the first person sued by the FAA for using a drone commercially.

Here are some basic questions that Amazon and Jeff Bezos have been a bit fuzzy about: 

When will we get deliveries by drone? 
Not sooner than 2015. That's Amazon's intended launch year, and — not coincidentally — that's when the Federal Aviation Administration is scheduled to draft preliminary regulations to guide the deployment of small unmanned autonomous flying robots into the U.S. airspace. 

Ryan Calo, professor of law at the University of Washington, told NBC News that he expects the timeline to be a bit more stretched out, but that drone delivery would be "routine within five years." "I think it’s a matter of working with the FAA to make sure it’s secure — not just for local but long-haul delivery," he said. 

Schulman is more pessimistic. He points out that the FAA is not keen on the kind of autonomous long-range flight that Bezos discussed. "The early indication is that those flight (types) are not going to be permitted at all," Schulman told NBC News — at least not initially. 

Who will drive the drones?It seems like piloted drones, controlled remotely by humans, will take off sooner than their brainier self-piloting cousins. But how we pick the pilots that make the safest drone controllers is still being debated. 

How much will deliveries cost?Will Amazon Prime members get free drone delivery with their annual subscriptions? Will regular customers get drone service if they spend enough on the site? If the first delivery drones to go up are piloted, the cost of hiring humans to do the flying might not make the exercise worthwhile.

Will humans even want this?Maybe, but maybe not. The town Deer Trail, in Colo. is seeking to issue hunting licenses for drones and one resident is even offering drone hunting lessons. In February this year, citing privacy concerns, the mayor of Seattle — where Amazon is based — shut down the city police department’s drone program. The cops returned their crafts even though in other parts of the country, police drones are pitching in and helping out. 

Speaking of which, what happens if someone damages a delivery drone? And what if the drone runs into something and damages property?"It makes sense that there will be legal protection against knocking them out," Schulman told NBC News. And as for errant drones colliding with people? Existing tort law provides protection for those who are injured by flying objects, whether they be drones or golf balls. Schulman thinks there's room for debate about additional oversight when it comes to drones.

Is the technology ready? In its new roadmap, the FAA has indicated an interest in "sense and avoid" technology, basic instinct for human pilots who avoid other aircrafts and flying things like birds. But some researchers say that technology for autonomous flight is in its infancy.

"As of right now, the major obstacle to deploying 'Amazon Prime Air' is the question of weight," Drunken Predator wrote to NBC News. "You need to carry batteries, GPS, your cargo, and most importantly, the Magic Sensor Box That Makes Us Not Crash Into Power Lines And Old Ladies (Which We Have Yet To Invent.)"

Drunken Predator added that, "You need range (there and back), you need lift capacity, you need GPS guidance, collision-avoidance sensors, and you need a small computer brain."

So no, the technology could use some maturing.

Will they deliver tacos?

No surprises, MS Dhoni wins ICC People's Choice Award..

Everyone knows how popular MS Dhoni is. The ICC People’s Choice Award for the year 2013 has only confirmed his fame.

The most successful Indian skipper beat the likes of Michael Clarke, Alastair Cook, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to win the prestigious award. With this, he becomes the third cricketer to win it after Sachin Tendulkar, the first recipient in 2010, and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who won in 2011 and 2012.

The BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel received the award on behalf of Dhoni, who is currently in South Africa. He was voted upon by close to 1,88,000 cricket fans around the world when the voting opened on November 2 and closed at midnight of November 23, an ICC statement said.

The short list was nominated by an elite panel of cricket experts, which is headed by ICC Cricket Committee chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble. Other members of the panel are England’s Alec Stewart, New Zealand’s Catherine Campbell, Pakistan’s Waqar Younis and South Africa’s Graeme Pollock.

Dhoni has also found a place in both ICC Test Team of the Year as well as the ODI side of the year but Indian cricket’s poster boy Virat Kohli, a consistent performer in the last one year, failed to make the ODI team.

David Richardson, ICC’s chief executive, said Kohli was unlucky to have missed out on in the ICC ODI Team of the Year. “Kohli is one of the players who should consider himself unlucky not to get selected, especially in the ODI team of the year. In these awards it’s more a case of who gets left out rather than who gets in,” Richardson said. “It will be very surprising if Kohli does not make the team next year,” he added.

The period for consideration of selection was August 7, 2012 to August 25, 2013. Kohli had scored 689 runs, including two tons, at an average of 40.52 during that period.

The other Indians in the squad are opener Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja. In the Test team, Dhoni has been named along with teammates Cheteshwar Pujara with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as the 12th man. Dhoni is also in the running for winning the ICC Cricketer of the Year along with five others (see box).

ICC Test Team of the Year
Alastair Cook (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (WK), Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Vernon Philander, 
R Ashwin (12th man)

ICC ODI Team of the Year
Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shikhar Dhawan, Hashim Amla, Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Saeed Ajmal, Mitchell Starc, James Anderson, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan (12th man)

List of nominations for the ICC awards
Cricketer of the year: Hashim Amla (RSA), James Anderson (ENG), Michael Clarke (AUS), Alastair Cook (ENG), MS Dhoni (IND), Kumar Sangakkara (SRI)

Test Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla (RSA), James Anderson (ENG), R Ashwin (IND), Michael Clarke (AUS), Cheteshwar Pujara (IND), Dale Steyn (RSA)

ODI Cricketer of the Year: Saeed Ajmal (PAK), Shikhar Dhawan (IND), MS Dhoni (IND), Misbah-ul-Haq (PAK), Ravindra Jadeja (IND), Kumar Sangakkara (SRI)

Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Suzie Bates (NZL), Charlotte Edwards (ENG), Meg Lanning (AUS), Dane van Niekerk (RSA), Anya Shrubsole (ENG), Stafanie Taylor (WIS)

Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Trent Boult (NZL), Cheteshwar Pujara (IND), Joe Root (ENG), Mitchell Starc (AUS)

Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year: Kevin O’Brien (IRL), Kyle Coetzer (SCO), Ed Joyce (IRL), Nawroz Mangal (AFG)

T20I Performance of the Year: Umar Gul (PAK): Bowling figures of 2.2-0-6-5 vs South Africa on March 3, 2013; Martin Guptill (NZL): 101 not out off 69 balls vs South Africa on December 23, 2012; Brendon McCullum (NZL): 123 off 53 balls vs Bangladesh on October 1, 2012 Ajantha Mendis (SRI): Bowling figures of 4-2-8-6 vs Zimbabwe on September 18, 2012

Women’s T20 Cricketer of the Year: Suzie Bates (NZL), Shanel Daley (WIS), Deandra Dottin (WIS) Meg Lanning (AUS) Sarah Taylor (ENG) Stafanie Taylor (WIS)

Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar (PAK), Steve Davis (AUS), Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Marais Erasmus (RSA), Ian Gould (ENG), Tony Hill (NZL), Richard Illingworth (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG), Nigel Llong (ENG), Bruce Oxenford (AUS), Paul Reiffel (AUS), Rodney Tucker (AUS)

indian cant forget..

Wankhede stadium to host Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test..

MUMBAI: The Wankhede stadium in Mumbai will host Sachin Tendulkar's landmark 200th and final Test with the BCCI acceding to the legendary batsman's wish to play his farewell match in front of his home crowd. 

The BCCI's Programmes and Fixtures committee, headed by Rajiv Shukla, on Tuesday chalked out the detailed schedule of the hastily-arranged series against the West Indies, comprising two Tests and three one-dayers to be held next month. 

"Tendulkar had requested that the 200th Test match should be given to Mumbai, so that his mother could also watch the match. The BCCI president and BCCI thought about it and accepted it. Keeping that sentiment in mind, it has been allocated to Wankhede stadium in Mumbai (scheduled from November 14-18)," Shukla told reporters. 

The Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the opening clash of the series from November 6 to 10 and like Wankhede, gets an 'out-of-turn' Test match as according to the BCCI's rotational policy, it was actually Bangalore and Ahmedabad's turn. 

"The committee decided to give the first Test match against West Indies to Kolkata," he said. 

Explaining the rationale to have the first Test in Kolkata, Shukla said, "Since both the Test matches are going to be important, it requires a bigger venue. A stadium which is large, that is why the first Test match has been given to Kolkata." 

The Caribbean side will also play three ODIs slated for November 21, 24 and 27. The venues for the first two one-day internationals will be Kochi and Visakhapatnam, respectively, while the third could either be held at Kanpur or Baroda. 

"Out of three ODIs, two ODI venues have been decided as Kochi and Vizag. The third ODI is between Kanpur and Baroda, subject to technical clearance and that is why the inspection team will go to Kanpur," said Shukla. 

"After that the third venue will be decided. The decision will be taken after one week for the third venue," Shukla said. 

On the board's plans to host a grand farewell for Tendulkar, Shukla said, "We will discuss that. The match starts on November 14th, so there is time. Working committee can also decide on that." 

The 40-year-old Tendulkar last week announced his decision to retire from Test cricket after playing his landmark 200th match, bringing an end to the intense speculation about his future. 

The board had squeezed in the home series against the West Indies to give Tendulkar an opportunity to retire in front of his home fans. 

On India's tour to South Africa, he said, "As far as South African tour is concerned, talks between the two boards are still going on. The president of Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the chief of the BCCI are still engaged in talking. So there was no discussion in the tours and fixtures committee meeting today on the South African tour." 

CSA had initially announced an itinerary that had three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20 Internationals, which BCCI immediately shot down accusing the home board of taking decisions unilaterally. 

How to run Android 4.4 KitKat on old phones..

Android 4.4 (also now known as KitKat, in keeping with the software's tradition of dessert-themed nicknames), is expected this month. On its website, android.com/kitkat, Google says, "It's our goal with Android KitKat to make anamazing Android experience available for everybody." 

Still, check with your phone's manufacturer for announcements about your particular model. Even if your phone is on the list for an official update from the manufacturer, it often takes longer for the software to become available after Google releases an update. 

Many hardware makers have customized Android to work better on their own devices and have added their own features to it — like custom interfaces or special apps — so putting out a new version of the system often requires some extra time. 

And most do not bother to update software for models more than a few years old, partly because of outdated hardware and partly because of the desire to sell you a new phone. 

(Owners of Google's recent Nexus phones typically get the update quickly, as Google puts out its own straight forward version of Android.) Some people have gone the unofficial route and modified their devices outside of the manufacturer's official guidelines.

A ‘Giant Piranha’

Fisherman Catches A ‘Giant Piranha’ (Goliath tiger fish)

Jeremy Wade, host of Animal Planet’s “River Monsters” has made the catch of the century on a stretch of the River Congo. This prehistoric looking creature is 5 feet long and weights approximately 100 pounds (more than 50 kg) but what shocks us the most, are this giant piranha’s teeth, 32 razor-sharp teeth to be more exact. The amazing size of these fangs is mostly common in great white sharks, so if you were thinking small piranhas are dangerous and creepy, think again, cause this monster exists for real, and it’s got the teeth of a shark.

Fortunately, they only live in a remote part of Africa along the Congo River, a place which is very hard to reach for outsiders, and even for the locals.

CRAZY...

                          A couple had their wedding rings engraved with a waveform of their own voices saying “I do.”

Bermuda Triangle..

Bermuda Triangle: Plausible Theories

BT, also called the “Devil’s Triangle”, is famous for reports of ships and planes disappearing on the area without being found. However, there are plausible theories that explain such disappearances. 

First is that the area exhibits violent weather such as short but intense storms, waterspouts (tornadoes on the sea), and freak waves that shoot up to 100m.

Second are the methane gas hydrates trapped on the sea floor, which when they explode, causes the water density to drop which can cause passing ships to sink. 

The third is its topography, it goes from a gently sloping continental shelf to an extremely deep drop-off; where ships and/or planes that go down on the area aren’t likely to be found.

amzing pic..

This amazing rainbow forms on a waterfall in Yosemite National Park, California when light reflects from a specific angle...

TUPPERWARE FOUND ON MOON of Saturn...

A NASA spacecraft sniffing the smoggy atmosphere of Titan has found traces of the chemical used to make plastic Tupperware boxes.

The robotic Cassini probe has detected propylene on Saturn's moon - the first time this chemical has been found out in space. Titan is a thoroughly unpleasant world with a brownish atmosphere, liquid methane rain and freezing temperatures that can plummet to a frosty -180°C.

As if the place wasn't nasty enough, space boffins now know that it is home to detectable quantities of propylene, which is a key ingredient in food containers as well as car bumpers.

NASA used Cassini's Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) to scan the hazy atmosphere, measuring the heat radiation emitted as infrared light from the moon in a process that NASA described as being similar to "the way our hands feel the warmth of a fire".

The first chemical the scientists discovered using the CIRS was propylene, which was identified in small quantities at various altitudes throughout the lower levels of the soupy hydrocarbon fog found in the moon's noxious skies.

"This chemical is all around us in everyday life, strung together in long chains to form a plastic called polypropylene," said Conor Nixon, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a paper describing the findings.

"That plastic container at the grocery store with the recycling code 5 on the bottom - that's polypropylene."

Voyager 1 was the first probe to discover that Titan's brown atmosphere was made up of hydrocarbons, which are the building-block chemicals in petrol and other fossil fuels. The moon also boasts huge lakes thought to be made of liquid methane and ethane, which would be the only bodies of standing liquid we've found on a moon or planet (other than Earth, of course).

The hydrocarbons in the moon's atmosphere are formed when sunlight breaks down this methane, which also exists in the form of a gas on Titan. During a flyby in 1980, Voyager first detected propane, used to power camping stoves, and propyne, a gas that is sometimes used as a welding torch fuel.

However, fast-forwarding to today, NASA boffins wanted to use Cassini's more sophisticated instruments to work out exactly which other molecules were present. After poring over the results, they were surprised to see propylene.

"This measurement was very difficult to make because propylene's weak signature is crowded by related chemicals with much stronger signals," said Michael Flasar, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "This success boosts our confidence that we will find still more chemicals long hidden in Titan's atmosphere."

The space scientists are delighted with the discovery – as is the El Reg science desk if it means that one day astronauts travelling through space will be able to stop off on Titan to manufacture their very own plastic food containers and other stuff (if enough propylene can be found).

"I am always excited when scientists discover a molecule that has never been observed before in an atmosphere," said Scott Edgington, Cassini's deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "This new piece of the puzzle will provide an additional test of how well we understand the chemical zoo that makes up Titan's atmosphere."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

Tata Nano emax coming this October..

Tata Nano emax CNG was unveiled at the Horizonext where Tata Motors showcased a total of 8 vehicles. The company also revamped the Nano which received some cosmetic as well as feature changes. The Nano emax CNG sports an automatic CNG cut-off system and fuel quality checking system. 

The Nano CNG will get 623cc twin cylinder petrol engine which can be tuned to both, CNG and petrol. So this version is equipped with CNG as well as petrol tank. The petrol tank will be helpful to the users to drive the car for longer distances. The driver can switch the car from CNG mode to petrol mode.

It is being reported that select showrooms in Mumbai and Delhi have started taking bookings for the CNG variants. With the festive season around the corner, the launch of the Tata Nano emax could be a big boost for the sales of the company.

iPhone detects earthquakes: seismologists envision universal detection grid..

Italian seismologists Antonino D’Alessandro and Giuseppe D’Anna of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology at Pisa have pinpointed the accuracy of the iPhone accelerometer–the miniscule chip that detects motion, relays the data to the phone’s firmware, and ultimately governs the orientation of the phone’s display–to detect moderate to strong earthquakes when near the quake’s epicenter.

Measuring it against a state-of-the-science Kinemetrics EpiSensor ES-T force balance accelerometer (above), D’Alessandro and D’Anna determined that the iPhone’s standard LIS331DLH Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) accelerometer consistently and dependably sensed earthquakes stronger than 5.0 on the Richter scale. That’s sensitive enough to tell the difference between, say, the motion of someone jogging down the street and a legitimate seismic event, but not yet enough to use as a lone early detection cell.

The problem is not so much the accelerometer itself, wrote the seismologists in the Oct. 2013 issue of Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. Rather, the technical challenge is to overcome the “noise” generated by the other components in the device. Still, they remain optimistic about the existing state of the technology for use as a universal data relay grid, as well as about the prospects for smartphones as handheld seismology instruments to become more sensitive in the future.

MEMS aren’t just used in iPhones, but in most smartphones and tablets, many laptop models, video game controllers, and other consumer electronics products. D’Alessandro and D’Anna chose the iPhone because the brand is perhaps the most commonly known one on the market. If they can get the better part of the smartphone-owning public to become comfortable with the idea of installing an earthquake detection app and leaving it running, perhaps we’d all feel a little safer–and more technologically prepared than 1906 San Francisco (above).

Time travel possible but only to the future: English physicist.

Time travel may not just be a science-fiction fable, if a physicist is to be believed. However, it would only be a one way road into the future and you won't be able to come back.
 
According to a report by The Telegraph, Professor Brian Cox, a particle physicist from the University of Manchester, who spoke at the British Science Festival, confirmed that a time machine could be built. He even claimed that time travel has already been done, on a small scale.
 
He elaborated that humans would be able to travel to the future if technology for accelerating larger objects is developed. But it would never be possible to travel back in time.
 
"You can go into the future; you've got almost total freedom of movement in the future," said Cox.
 
"If you go fast, your clock runs slow relative to people who are still. As you approach the speed of light, your clock runs so slow you could come back 10,000 years in the future," he added.
 
He said that Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity supported this and that time slows down closer to the speed of light.
 
"In General Relativity, you can do it in principle," said Cox.
 
However, to go back in time, you'd require a "wormhole," a shortcut in the concept of space and time, which is doubtful.
 
"It's to do with building these things called wormholes; shortcuts through space and time. But most physicists doubt it. Hawking came up with the 'chronology protection conjecture' - physics we don't yet understand that means wormholes are not stable," he stated. 

+

Your smartphone can recognize you from a tap on its touchscreen.

Ever dreamed of your smartphone recognizing you when you tap or swipe on its touch screen? This is a reality now as US scientist Cheng Bo and his team at the Illinois Institute of Technology have developed a software called Silent-Sense which can identify the user the way he/she taps and swipes on a touchscreen. The technique uses.
According to a NewScientist, the software has the capability to record patterns of pressure, duration and fingertip size and position each user exhibits when interacting with their phone or tablet.
"Different users, dependent on sex and age among other things, will have different habits in interacting," the report has quoted Bo as saying.
The accuracy of the soft ware is so perfect that it can identify the owner of the smartphone with 99% certainty. Tests were conducted with 100 users told to use the smartphone's touchscreen as they would normally. This results were achieved with no more than 10 taps.
The power saver Silent-Sense stops indentify the user once the apps like games are on, but automatically switches on one the user start accessing his/her email or SMS.

+

New iPhone: top ten features to hope for....

Apple is widely expected to launch new iPhone models at an event at the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters this evening. Based on rumours and leaks to date, here is a list of some of the things we can hope to see.

Apple is expected to launch at least two iPhone models - the iPhone 5S, which is an update to its existing iPhone 5 device, and the iPhone 5C, which is a cheaper handset with a plastic case, aimed at the Chinese market.

1. New colours

Invitations sent to journalists last week carried the tagline: ‘This should brighten everyone’s day’. This appears to support suggestions that a new iPhone in a range of colours will be introduced.

Until now, Apple has only offered the iPhone in black and white, (or 'slate' and 'silver' for the iPhone 5). However, a report in TechCrunch claims that Apple plans to add a "champagne gold" colour option for its forthcoming iPhone 5S, citing multiple sources.

Meanwhile, the "C" in iPhone 5C reportedly stands for "Colours" according to the consensus at MacRumors, and a number of photos showing colourful plastic rear shells alleged to be for Apple's rumored lower-cost iPhone have surfaced in recent weeks.

2. Fingerprint sensor

The latest leaked images of the iPhone 5S depict a silver "ring" around the iPhone's black home button, adding fuel to rumours that the device will include a fingerprint sensor.

Separate high-resolution images published last week by Australian teenager Sonny Dickson, (who has been behind a number of high-profile Apple leaks), show a circular component that is presumed to fit underneath the iPhone home button, with a fingerprint scanning mechanism at its centre.

It is rumoured that the iPhone 5S is ‘S’ for ‘Security’, and the finger-sensitive touch pad could be used for unlocking the homescreen or confirming identity for payment from the App Store or other outlets.

3. Faster processor

Sources claim that the iPhone 5S will include a 64-bit A7 processor, which would mean that the new iPhone will run approximately 31 percent faster then previous models. Although slightly slower than the top-of-the-range offerings from Nvidia and Qualcomm on paper, the company’s iOS operating system is much better optimised to deal with it than premium Android phones.

The model will also have 2GB of RAM, keeping up with most of the premium offerings in the Android markets, and faster 4G LTE connectivity, according to reports.

4. 12 megapixel camera and slow-motion video

According to SlashGear, we can expect the iPhone 5S to have an 8-megapixel camera with a wider f/2.0 aperture lens and support for 1080p HD video recording. However, earlier leaks suggested a possible 12- or even 13-megapixel camera.

The camera is also have a dual-LED flash, which would allow the iPhone 5S to have a brighter flash for low light photography. The wider aperture may also come in handy for low light images without requiring the use of a flash.

There is also likely to be a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera for FaceTime chat.

5. A 128GB Model

The iPhone 5 was available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models; however a new 128GB 5S model could be released, according to KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

If the predictions from the analyst, who has been quite accurate in the past, turn out to be true, then iPhone 5S will be the second Apple product after iPad 4 to feature the massive storage capacity.

The 128 GB model of the iPhone 5S would cost $499 (on contract) under the Apple's current pricing scheme.

6. 'Flat' iOS 7 Design

The iPhone 5S will run Apple's iOS 7, which is expected to be a striking departure from previous versions of the operating system. According to Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic and a visiting scholar at Berkeley’s Center for Science, Technology, Medicine and Society, iOS 7 is a complete, post-Steve Jobs overhaul of Apple’s operating system.

To be clear: If you’re an iPhone user, everything — your email, your calendar, your texts, your phone dialer, your photos, your notes — will look and work differently,” said Madrigal.

Previous versions of the iPhone and other Apple touch products used visual cues that helped people connect the apps they were using to real-world objects. The tabs of web browsers looked like real folders, the Notes app showed a pad of yellow paper with lines on it, and even the camera had the look and sound of a mechanical shutter.

With iOS 7, all those things are gone, and instead of the subtle clues that helped people understand how and when to use the apps, the system has simple animations showing them how apps slide and move, according to Madriga.

7. 250-hour battery life

After complaints that the iPhone 5 battery life was disappointing, the iPhone 5S is rumoured to have a battery life of about 250 hours on standby when the device is not actively in use.

8. Larger display

Steve Jobs called the original iPhone's 3.5-inch screen "the perfect size for consumers" but the latest iPhone 5 had a slightly larger display screen and Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at different sized iPhones earlier this year.

Apple has reportedly been looking at different screen sizes for its forthcoming iPhone devices. Sources told Reuters in June that suppliers had been approached with plans for 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch screens, and a report in The Wall Street Journal last week indicated that Apple could be considering an entire family of screen sizes for upcoming iPhone releases.

However, others have dismissed the rumours, claiming that Apple will wait until the iPhone 6 to introduce larger screen sizes that could compete with Android devices from the likes of Samsung and HTC.

9. Wireless charging

The iPhone 5S is expected to support Qi wireless charging technology. Although it was only last September that Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller questioned the convenience of wireless charging systems, it is thought that the new phone could be charged via a wireless battery case.

10. Near-Field Communications (NFC) technology

Apple famously decided to withhold NFC for the iPhone 5 and since both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S4 have arrived toting the new connectivity, Apple may want to incorporate it this time around

Recent reports from Taiwan and tech website NFC World indicate that manufacturer Chipbond has won a major contract to build components for the iPhone 5S - including NFC. This would allow iPhone users to carry out contactless transactions with their handset.

+

Harley-Davidson opens its first dealership in central India..

Life style and leisure bike lovers in central India have one more reason to rejoice as Harley- Davidson India has started its first dealership in at Indore.

Newly opened ‘Tiger Harley-Davidson’ dealership in Indore is the company’s tenth dealership in the country.

“This is our first dealership in Madhya Pradesh and it is one of the largest Harley- Davidson showrooms in the country. We are excited to welcome new customers in central India to join our growing family of owners,” said Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India.

The dealership in Indore will offer the entire Harley-Davidson India line up of 12 motorcycle models, in addition to Harley-Davidson riding gear, apparel and merchandise, said company officials.

“Harley-Davidson is famous for delivering a premium lifestyle experience to its customers, allowing them to explore their spirit for freedom and adventure. With its picturesque roads and vibrant culture, Indore is an ideal motorcycling destination,” said Manish Gupta, principal owner, Tiger Harley- Davidson.

The prices range of Harley-Davidson motorcycles available in Indore will be from Rs 583,409 (ex-showroom, Indore) to Rs 2,509,431 for its top end models.

The company assembles 9 out of its 12 models available in India in its Bawal, Haraya plant and plans to launch more models in India based on the response. The company has 30 Harley-Davidson motorcycle models world-wide.

“At present, we do not plan to have more assembling plants but we are surely looking for more dealerships across the country,” said Anoop Prakash.

We plan to open two more dealerships in Jaipur and Pune by the end of this year, added Prakash.

The company sees great potential in Indian two-wheeler market as 85% of the total two- wheeler market in the country is motorcycle market, said officials.

According to MD Anoop Prakash, Harley- Davidson holds more than 50% market share in above 500 cc segment in India and feels the prospects are bright for the company.

Harley Davidson sold around 2,000 premium segment bikes between 2010 and 2012 in India.

+

Smartphones Evolution.......

Smartphones Evolution

The world’s first smartphone hit the market on August 16, 1994. Its name was Simon and was produced by IBM. It contained most of the features we’re used to: email, predictive typing, even a rudimentary version of “apps” by way of plugging in a memory card to get more features. It also weighed over a pound, was the size of an actual brick, and cost almost $1,000.

BMW launches the 1 Series for Rs 20.9 lakhs...

116i: Rs20.9lakhs
118d: Rs 22.9lakhs
118d Sport: Rs 25.9lakhs
118d Sport+: Rs 29.9 lakhs

German luxury car manufacturer BMW today launched its new sports utility vehicle ‘X1’ in India, priced between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 29.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The vehicle will be available in both petrol and diesel variants. While the petrol option is tagged at Rs 22 lakh (ex-showroom, all-India), the diesel variant will have two options priced at Rs 23.9 lakh and Rs 29.9 lakh (ex-showroom, all-India), respectively.

President of BMW India Andreas Schaaf said, “The new BMW ‘X1’ sets the benchmark by bringing together features of a sports activity vehicle with spontaneous flexibility and outstanding fuel economy.”

Bullish on its latest model, the company said it expected the X1 to be its biggest volumes driver in India.

“Already we have 1,000 orders for the BMW X1 and we are sold out for the first quarter of the next year. We expect the X1 to be the biggest volume model for BMW in India,”he said.

The new vehicle will be assembled at the company’s Chennai plant. The sports utility vehicle will be positioned below its existing ‘X3’ and ‘X5’ SUV models, which are already being sold in the country.