|
Now, cup-sized microwave for geeks to fill their tummies while working |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by Heman Kothari
|
|
Monday, 15 June 2009 17:29 |
London, June 9: Computer professionals may not have to leave their screens to fill their stomachs, thanks to a British scientist who has developed the world’s smallest microwave for those too busy to leave their PCs.
Gordon Andrews, of the UK’s Microwave Technologies Association, has revealed the 7½in Beanzawave plugs into a computer, something that makes it ideal for deskbound types or travellers with a laptop.
He says that the mini microwave heats a yogurt pot-sized portion of beans in 60 seconds, runs off battery or mains with onscreen controls operated though the keyboard.
According to him, a decision to create the teacup-sized device was taken after research by food giant Heinz found that millions of workers skip meals.
“The plan was to make it mobile so it could be used in any environment. You just scroll to control what you want to do,” the Daily Express quoted him as saying.
If there is enough interest, it will be rolled out in high street stores for around 100 pounds. (ANI) |
|
|
No porn for Indians on Microsoft's new search engine Bing |
|
|
|
|
Written by Sheetal Mehta
|
|
Monday, 15 June 2009 17:28 |
Washington, June 8: Indian netizens will not find any explicit images and videos on Microsoft''s new search engine Bing because the company has blocked them for Internet users in countries where pornography is banned.
This feature now works only when a user says that he/she is an English-speaking American, Canadian or Australian.
"We determined the list of countries for which sexually explicit results are restricted based on analysis of where such are restricted by local law, but we did not take these actions in response to specific government demands or regulations," Fox News quoted a Microsoft spokesman as telling the Indian Web site ContentSutra.com.
However, the "ban" can apparently be reversed if the country-localizing page to see the images can be changed to those of the countries where the search engine returns dozens of explicit images and videos.
Other countries where the results were filtered featured most of the Islamic world, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and what Microsoft calls "Arabian" countries. (ANI)
|
|
Cellphones may soon form peer-to-peer network to broadcast disaster alerts |
|
|
|
|
Written by Sheetal Mehta
|
|
Monday, 15 June 2009 17:25 |
London, June 8: Mobile phones of the future would be able to form a peer-to-peer network to sound an alarm in the event of a disaster, and pass on the alert from phone to phone, even if most of a cellphone network is down.
According to a report in New Scientist, this futuristic scenario might soon be a reality, if a new patent application by Telecommunications Company Motorola is anything to go by.
In an emergency, such as a hurricane or terrorist attack, the US government can operate the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which harnesses all TV and radio frequencies, to broadcast warning messages to people in their homes.
“Unfortunately, a large portion of the intended recipients will not have their TV and radio systems turned on when a disaster occurs,” said Motorola engineer Jerome Vogedes of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a US patent filed on May 21.
His answer is a new generation of cellphones that can rapidly form a peer-to-peer network when an emergency alert is broadcast.
A phone on the edge of a disaster area, where a cellphone service still operates, receives the alert. It contacts the nearest phone using Wi-Fi, establishes a P2P network with it, and sends it the alert.
That cellphone then does likewise until as many mobiles as possible have received the alert.
This way, the warning message gets out with “minimal use of infrastructure”, Vogedes said. (ANI) |
|
|
Future search engines won’t need you to repeatedly change terms upon failures |
|
|
|
|
Written by Neena Sareen
|
|
Monday, 15 June 2009 17:24 |
Washington, June 6: A search engine that would not require a user to change the search terms to get any information time and again may soon be a reality, thanks to the efforts of a Penn State researcher.
Jim Jansen, associate professor of Information Sciences and Technology, analysed nearly 1 million Web searches to detect patterns of query reformulation and create models to predict them, which may help create more advanced search engines.
The researcher believes that, once failed to find any information, such engines would make further searches on behalf of any person without the user having to change search terms.
"The key finding in the research is that we are moving from descriptive aspects to predictive models in Web searching," said Jansen.
Writing about the research team’s work in the online edition of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Jansen revealed that the search terms in 22 percent of queries were reformulated or changed to more precisely convey the information for which the user was searching.
"They typically moved to narrow their query at the start of the session, moving to reformulation in the mid and latter portions of the sessions. It appears that the assistance to narrow the query and alternate query terms would be most beneficial immediately after the initial query submission," Jansen said.
The Penn State team also found low rates of users asking for system assistance in helping to find the desired information -- perhaps because they are too focused on using their own search terms to find information.
"The implication is that system assistance should be most specifically targeted when the user is making a cognitive shift because it appears users are open to system intervention," Jansen said.
Jansen considers this study to be a critical step in helping to design more advanced search engines.
"Given that one can predict future states of query formulation based on previous and present states with a reasonable degree of accuracy, one can design information systems that provide query reformulation assistance, automated searching assistance systems, recommender systems and others," Jansen said. (ANI) |
|
|
|
|
Page 6 of 6 |
The West Indies cricket board has retained the new inexperienced squad for the second test match against Bangladesh w...
Johannesburg - Two Brazilian policemen who are in South Africa to observe preparations for the 2010 football World Cu...
Asus has announced its plan to introduce a compact and light net book Eee PC SeaShell 1101HA in the market, expanding...
After failing to stave off a military coup in Honduras, the Obama administration moved gingerly Monday to try to undo...
Tech World