NASA seeks wisdom of crowd for Mars robot missions

NASA is trying to shed any "not invented here" attitude for its next missions to Mars. The space agency announced Friday it is enlisting the help of scientists and engineers worldwide to lay plans for sending a robot to Mars. The planning group's ultimate mission is to send humans to Mars by the 2030s. NASA is organizing a meeting, called Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, in June. Scientists and technologists can submit ideas for papers online, some of which will be presented at the conference. The robotic mission ideas should be geared toward near-term missions, which could start as early as 2018, as well as longer-term goals. NASA hopes the new approach of seeking input from outsiders will generate good ideas and help maintain technical skills in the U.S., the agency said. This August, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity is scheduled to land on Mars and help determine whether the environment is able to sustain life. Next year, NASA will launch the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter, a probe to understand the Red Planet's atmosphere. The rover Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004, is still operating and there are two NASA-launched satellites now orbiting Mars.

PlayStation Network going down this morning -- for maintenance

Sony says its PlayStation Network will be down today, but those who suffered through last year's security breach should know it's only maintenance this time around. Sony senior manager for the PlayStation Digital Platforms, Matthew Harper, announced on his company's blog yesterday that the gaming and digital media network will be taken down at 6 a.m. PT today and will stay offline for about 13 hours, or until 7 p.m. PT. During that period, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, and online gaming will not be available.

Sony's timing on the outage is somewhat curious. Almost exactly one year ago, the company was forced to take its PlayStation Network offline after it was breached by hackers. During the weeks-long downtime, the company revealed that user data was stolen, including credit card numbers. When the PlayStation Network was restored, Sony made it clear that the service was far more secure.

Man uses Google Earth to find long-lost mother

Sometimes Google Earth can help you find your way home after decades of not knowing where home is. That is what apparently happened for an Indian man who was separated from his family as a 5-year-old. Saroo Brierley tells BBC magazine that he was accompanying his older brother on a train trip in 1986 when he fell asleep and awoke 14 hours later in the notorious slum of Calcutta. Without his brother. At first, he lived on the streets, joining legions of children begging for their livelihood. Brierley would eventually be taken in by an orphanage and adopted by a couple in Australia. "I accepted that I was lost and that I could not find my way back home, so I thought it was great that I was going to Australia," he told the magazine. But as he grew older, the desire to know where he came from also grew. With vivid memories of -- but not the name -- of the town he was born, he started searching the Internet for clues. Brierley multiplied the 14 hours he knew he had been on the train by the average speed of trains in India to determine how far he traveled that night. He then drew a circle around Calcutta based on that radius and eventually determined that Khandwa was the town he was looking for. "When I found it, I zoomed down and bang, it just came up," he said. "I navigated it all the way from the waterfall where I used to play." He would eventually make his way to Khandwa and locate a familiar house. His family had moved but he remembered their names. With the help of passers-by, Brierley was taken to the house where is mother lived. At first he did not recognize his mother, who was stunned into silence by his reappearance. She took him by the hand into her house. "She had a bit of trouble grasping that her son, after 25 years, had just reappeared like a ghost." His older brother was not as fortunate; his body was found on the railroad tracks a few months after Brierley disappeared.

How to bring the Start menu back to Windows 8

Still yearning for the good, old-fashioned Start menu in Windows 8? StartMenu7 is one utility that can bring it back for you. Initially designed to replace and enhance the Start menu in Windows 7 and prior versions, StartMenu7 (aka StartMenuX) can pull a similar trick in Windows 8. Designed for a PC or touch-screen device, this utility is available as both a free version and a paid $19.99 pro version, so you can try out the freebie first. After installation, the software displays an icon in the lower left corner of the desktop. Click on the icon, and a traditional Start menu pops up with access to your various programs, documents, folders, and other content. You can navigate through the various folders and subfolders to launch your full array of installed programs. You'll find the familiar Run command, which is always handy. And a Search link brings you to the Metro screen's Search feature. A power control panel gives you access to a helpful collection of options, including Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, Hibernate, Log off, and even Undock if your laptop is connected to a docking station. You can easily resize the menu to make it shorter or narrower and even position it anywhere on the screen so it's closer to or further away from the Taskbar. By default, the utility uses the new Windows 8 logo for its button, but you can change that to the familiar Windows 7 orb, an Apple logo, or even an Angry Birds image. You can also change the skin and color of the menu itself. The free version provides some options to edit the menu by letting you add and remove items. But you'll need the pro version to completely customize the menu. A separate Group Manager tool allows you to add, edit, and remove virtual groups for your different applications. Since the tool's Start menu icon appears in the usual lower left, you may have some trouble accessing the Metro screen thumbnail that appears when you hover in the hot corner. The trick is to move your mouse all the way to the hot corner until the thumbnail appears, then move your mouse up, and then click on the thumbnail to bring you to the Metro screen. So with a little finesse, StartMenu7 can co-exist peacefully with access to the Metro Start screen. I did bump into one glitch where the utility's icon overlapped the Taskbar icon next to it, in this case the shortcut for Internet Explorer. Exiting the icon removed it from the screen, but then I couldn't get it back until I rebooted Windows 8. If you have trouble launching the program from its Start menu icon, you can run it from the Windows System Tray instead. Click on the arrow for Show Hidden Icons in the System Tray and select Customize. Set StartMenuX to "show icon and notifications," and it will always appear to let you trigger the menu.

Microsoft playing active role in ultrabook development?

t's a software maker first and foremost, but Microsoft certainly has a vested interest in hardware. Case in point: Digitimes is reporting today, citing sources, that Microsoft is "actively involved" in ultrabook product designs. The reason the company is taking such an active role centers on Windows 8's touch-enabled features. When displays are touched in traditional clamshell notebooks, the screens will shake and move a bit, making it difficult to handle tasks. Microsoft has now placed more stringent specifications on vendors, according to Digitimes' sources, to ensure that the touch screens will deliver a more reliable experience. The combination of ultrabooks and touch screens is something many vendors believe could be a key ingredient in the form factor's success. Last November, Intel CEO Paul Otellini, whose company developed the ultrabook specification, said that touch-based options will become increasingly important as the devices try to compete against traditional notebooks and Apple's own iPad. "To do that, we have to get touch to a lower cost," Otellini said last year. "This is particularly important, as we move to the launch of Windows 8. The iPad and the iPhone have made touch a paradigm." Although ultrabooks might not be direct competitors to Apple's iPad, they are trying to take on the MacBook Air. And although Apple has popularized touch-based functionality, the company has yet to deliver what Microsoft reportedly desires by bringing touch-enabled displays to its line of MacBooks. While it's possible that might happen eventually, implementing touch functionality in an upright display is something Apple doesn't seem all that keen to follow through on. If Microsoft has its way, however, ultrabooks with touch displays might become far more prevalent in the coming quarters. According to Digitimes' sources, touch-enabled ultrabooks featuring displays of 13 inches or above could account for 30 percent of all shipped models this year.

Nokia Lumia 900 ad mocks other smartphones for looking alike

Do you feel you're expressing yourself as an individual because you have the same smartphone as everyone else? That's the message being promoted in the latest not-so tongue-in-cheek ad created by Nokia and AT&T. Trying to drum up interest in the new Lumia 900 Windows Phone, the two companies are hard at work unleashing a series of ads aimed at deriding the competition. The latest ad (also seen below) starts off by calling other smartphone users beta testers and proclaiming that all other smartphones look alike. To prove the point, the gentleman portrayed in the ad seems content that his smartphone is the same as everyone else's. But he becomes a bit less content when a nerdy-looking girl runs up to him with the same smartphone in tow, sqwaking as she compares hers with his. And of course, the usual well-dressed spokesman ends the ad by touting that Nokia designed the 900 because all smartphones don't need to look alike. The ad is clever. But will it sell the phone? Mocking other smartphones and by extension other smartphones users is a risky approach. But when battling for share in a market dominated by Apple and Android, Nokia and AT&T do need the big guns, which includes an aggressive and even risky marketing campaign. The two players have already lampooned the iPhone over last year's antennagate issue. So now they're just expanding their horizons to cover the rest of the industry. And how has the Lumia 900 been selling so far? Paul Roth, AT&T's president of retail sales and service, annnounced last week that sales of the phone had "exceeded expectations," according to AllThingsD. The Lumia 900 topped Amazon's mobile phone bestsellers list last week. And a scan of AT&T's online store shows the phone out of stock. But we don't know if the phone is out of stock due to hot sales or other reasons. The 900 faced an early challenge as many users ran into data connection problems, prompting Nokia to offer to replace the defective phones with new ones. As AllThingsD points out, the rush to get replacement phones could have impacted existing stock, causing AT&T to run out of supply Most likely, that factor combined with robust initial sales may have emptied AT&T's supply quicker than expected.

Google's Sergey Brin: Facebook and Apple a threat to Internet freedom

In an interview with the Guardian, Google co-founder Sergey Brin warned that the "open" Internet is in danger from very powerful forces, including Facebook and Apple. "I am more worried than I have been in the past ... it's scary," he said Brin identified the serious threats to the open Internet as repressive governments trying to control access to the Internet, entertainment industry crackdowns on piracy and so-called "wall gardens" that maintain more strict control over what can be done on their technology platforms, citing Facebook and Apple. He said that Facebook and Apple are stifling innovation and risk Balkanizing the Web, and went as far as to say that Google would never have come into existence if Facebook were dominant. "You have to play by their rules, which are really restrictive. The kind of environment that we developed Google in, the reason that we were able to develop a search engine, is the web was so open. Once you get too many rules that will stifle innovation." Of course, there is some self-interest and sour grapes in Brin's assessment. He would like to make all the information inside Facebook and Apple apps accessible to Google's search engine. A more open Web is certainly very good for the world but it's also very good for Google's bottom line. And, Google's main effort at social networking, Google+, has a long way to go to catch Facebook, which has more that four times the number of users and continues to gain momentum, including its recent purchase of the mobile photo-sharing app, Instagram. In addition, Apple, which has ridden it's proprietary approach to become the most valued company in the world, is Google's main competitor in the smartphone and tablet arena, another area critical to Google's business success. Brin also complained about Facebook making it difficult for users to move their data to other services, presumably Google+. "Facebook has been sucking down Gmail contacts for many years," he said. Brin's comments on his chief competitors may be the start of an escalating war of words and technology as the giant colonizers of the Web continue their competitive quests for dominance. Keep in mind what the Web's inventor Tim Berners-Lee has said: A related danger is that one social-networking site--or one search engine or one browser--gets so big that it becomes a monopoly, which tends to limit innovation. As has been the case since the Web began, continued grassroots innovation may be the best check and balance against any one company or government that tries to undermine universality.

New iPad Mini rumor: 6M coming in third quarter

The latest comes by way of a translated report from Chinese online portal Netease, which states the device will compete against Windows 8 tablets.

Another day, another iPad Mini rumor. The latest comes by way of a report from Chinese portal Netease, translated by Kotaku, which states that a smaller version of Apple's hit tablet will come to market in the third quarter. The report says that 6 million units will be ready for launch, and the smaller tablet could sell for $249 to $299. While Steve Jobs himself has dismissed the notion of a smaller iPad, rumors have continued to pop up that Apple is readying a smaller version of its iPad. The success of Amazon's Kindle Fire, which has sold well largely thanks to its lower price tag, may have convinced Apple that there is an opportunity for a smaller, more affordable tablet. Analysts have said such a device would help it maintain its lead over competitors. Apple may be preparing the smaller iPad as a response to the expected launch of competitive devices running on Windows 8, according to the report. While Android tablets haven't sold as well, Microsoft could have more luck given the potential to integrate desktop, laptop, and tablet operating systems. For now, the iPad continues to dominate the market.

പത്രക്കാരെ തല്ലണം 'നീല' ടാബ് ലറ്റ്*************

പത്രക്കാര്‍ക്ക് തല്ലു കിട്ടാറായിട്ടുണ്ട് ! അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ ബി.ജെ.പി എം എല്‍ എമാരെ മാത്രം ടാര്‍ഗറ്റ് ചെയ്യുന്നതിന്റെ ഉദ്ദേശം എന്താണ്? അവരും മനുഷ്യന്മാരല്ലേ? അവര് നിയമസഭയിലിരുന്നു ടാബ്ലറ്റില്‍ നീലയാണോ മഞ്ഞയാണോ കാണുന്നത് എന്നൊക്കെ അന്വേഷിക്കാന്‍ പോകുന്നവനെ തല്ലുകയല്ലാതെ പിന്നെന്താ ചെയ്യേണ്ടത്? 'എന്റെ ടാബ്ലെറ്റ് , എന്റെ കണ്ണ് ' . ഞാന്‍ എന്ത് കാണുന്നു എന്നത്' that's none of your bloody business' എന്ന് പറയാത്തത് ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് അറിയാത്തത് കൊണ്ടല്ല, മറിച്ച് സഭയുടെ മാന്യത കാത്തു സൂക്ഷിക്കേണ്ടത് കൊണ്ടാണെന്ന് ആ എം എല്‍ എമാര്‍ക്ക് അറിയാം. എന്നിട്ടും ആദ്യം കര്‍ണാടക, ഇപ്പോള്‍ ഗുജറാത്ത് നിയമസഭയില്‍ സഭ നടപടികള്‍ മാത്രം റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ട്‌ ചെയ്യാന്‍ അനുവദിച്ചു കിട്ടിയ ഗാലറിയില്‍ ഇരുന്ന് മന്ത്രിമാരുടെയും എം എല്‍ എമാരുടേയും സ്വകാര്യതയിലേക്ക് ഒളിഞ്ഞു നോക്കുന്നത് എന്തിനാണ്, ഹേ ..? ഭാഷ അറിയാത്ത നാട്ടില്‍ ചെന്നാല്‍ ആദ്യം പഠിക്കുന്നത് തെറിയും അശ്ലീല വാക്കുകളും ആണ്. അത് സ്വാഭാവികം. അത് തന്നെയാണ് അവര്‍ക്കും സംഭവിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ടാകുക. ടാബ്ലെറ്റ് എന്നാ ഭാഷയറിയാത്ത ലോകത്ത് ചെന്നപ്പോള്‍ അവരും ആദ്യം പഠിച്ചത് ആ വകയൊക്കെ ആകുമെന്നതിനാല്‍ എനിക്ക് അവരെ കുറ്റം പറയാനാകുന്നില്ല. എന്തായാലും , ഞാനുമൊരു ടാബ്ലെറ്റ് വാങ്ങാന്‍ തീരുമാനിച്ചു!! ഇനി നിയമസഭയില്‍ ഏതെങ്കിലും ഒരു മൂലയില്‍ ഒരു സീറ്റ് കിട്ടിയാല്‍ മതി.