Technology

Samsung to launch its first all-in-one Desktop computer Ativ One 7 Curved

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Samsung is preparing to launch its first new all-in-one desktop computer Ativ One 7 Curved that will have a curved screen just as its TVs.

Samsung has already been offering laptops and Chrome books. The idea of the Ativ One 7 Curved with 27-inch all-in-one, came partly from Samsung’s TVs that already have curved screens, reported PCWorld.

The new desktop would look like a 27-inch curved TV, with all the PC components at the back of the monitor.

Apple patents ‘smart pen’ capable of detecting hand movements

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Tech giant Apple has been granted a patent for a stylus design of a smart pen capable of detecting hand movements that enables translation into digital line drawing s and text, adding into the list of their new innovations.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has patented Apple’s communicating stylus that employs accelerometers, wireless communication hardware and onboard storage to transfer hand-written notes and drawings on to the display of a digital device, the AppleInsider reported.

Earth-sized planets in Milky Way hint at ancient life

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Five planets transiting a larger primary star about 117 light years from Earth may constitute the oldest known system of terrestrial-sized planets, scientists say.

The discovery hints at the possibility of ancient life elsewhere in our galaxy, researchers said.

Dr Tiago Campante, an Asteroseismology Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham (UK) who led the research team, focused on a system of five terrestrial-sized planets observed by the Kepler space telescope transiting the star KOI-3158, about 117 light years from Earth in the constellation Lyra.

New project to grow lettuce on Mars

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A student team in the UK plans to grow lettuce on Mars by 2018 using the atmosphere and sunlight on the red planet.

LettuceOnMars, a student project from the University of Southampton Spaceflight Society, has reached the finals of an international competition, run by Mars One, a Dutch non-profit organisation, to land experiments on Mars.

It is one of the ten short-listed university projects that was selected for technical feasibility and popularity.

The winning payload will arrive on Mars in 2018 together with the official Mars One experiments.

Reprogrammed stem cells may stop cancer post radiation

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A new study has shown that reprogramming stem cells could help prevent cancer post radiation.

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study showed that one of the ways to get rid of such stem cells is a “program” that makes stem cells damaged by radiation differentiate into other cells that can no longer survive forever.

New half-light half-matter quantum particles discovered

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In a breakthrough, researchers led by an Indian-origin scientist have discovered half-light, half-matter particles in atomically thin semiconductors made of a 2D layer of atoms.

The research improves the prospects of developing computing and communication technologies based on quantum properties of light and matter.

The atomically thin semiconductors consisted of two-dimensional (2D) layer of molybdenum and sulfur atoms arranged similar to graphene.

OPPO launches 4G enabled smartphone

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Chinese handset maker OPPO Tuesday launched 4G enabled OPPO R5 smartphone in India for Rs.29,990.

It is available for pre-booking from Jan 1, 2015, a company statement said here.

“We used cutting edge manufacturing techniques to create a phone that fits perfectly into the users’ hands,” said Tom Lu, chief executive officer, OPPO India.

Measuring 4.85 mm in width and weighing 155 gram, the R5 is equipped with an octa-core Qualcomm MSM8939 and comes with a 5.2-inch AMOLED screen.

It also has a 13 mega pixel rear camera.

IANS

Estrogen found to aggravate severe allergic reactions

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Scientists have claimed that Estradiol, a type of estrogen, worsens allergic reactions.

Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that the estrogen boosts the levels and activity in mice of an enzyme that drives life-threatening allergic reactions.

The study results may help explain why women frequently experience more severe allergic reactions compared to men. Furthermore, the results reaffirm the importance of accounting for gender in the design of animal experiments.

Soon, trainers that charge your devices as you walk

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New trainers have recently been developed that can generate power to charge devices like smartphones, tablets or cameras from just a one hour walk.

The charging trainers, called the EnSole, can bring over two hours of phone power from just a one hour walk, the Daily Star reported.

It collects kinetic energy via a mechanism tucked inside the insole. And the motion of walking spins a generator, which allows power to be built up in an external battery pack attached to the shoelaces.

Rumour of Niall Horan leaving One Direction fake: Yahooo

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News website Yahoo UK has clarified that the news of Niall Horan quitting boy band One Direction on their Twitter account 0was put by some hacker.

The Yahoo UK tweet that read “Niall has left One Direction!!” created uproar among the fans over the weekend and the hashtag #ReasonsNiallLeftOneDirection instantly began trending.

Yahoo UK took to Twitter to clarify the rumour. “Morning everyone. Just so you know, Niall Horan isn’t in fact leaving 1D, our account was hacked last night. We repeat, Niall isn’t leaving,” they tweeted.

Motion technology to detect alien life

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Scientists have developed a motion detector to isolate and detect vibrating living cells which can be used to find life in other planets.

“The system has the benefit of being completely chemistry-free. This means that it can be used anywhere – in drug testing or even in the search for extraterrestrial life,” said Giovanni Dietler, one of the researchers from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).

The new device uses a nano-sized cantilever to detect motion.

A cantilever is essentially a beam that is anchored only at one end, with the other end bearing a load.

Microsoft may introduce Windows 10 with big changes to Internet Explorer

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Microsoft will reportedly introduce the Windows 10 with some big changes to Internet Explorer browser codenamed “Spartan” making it more like Chrome and Firefox.

According to CNET, Thomas Nigro, a Microsoft Student Partner lead and developer of the modern version of VLC said that Microsoft was building an entirely new browser.

Spartan will use Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft’s Trident rendering engine (not WebKit), said sources.

Spartan is likely going to be a new lightweight browser of Microsoft.

‘Intelligence boosting’ brain games may not prevent dementia after all

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A new study has revealed that computerized brain games that are said to help boost intelligence and prevent dementia may not actually do so.

Loyola University Medical Center neurologist Xabier Beristain has said that there’s little scientific evidence to support these industry claims, as these games are not a panacea.

He said that brain-training games require the user to perform certain tasks on a computer and they may make the user more skilled at narrow tasks, but there’s little evidence they make the user smarter overall or less likely to experience cognitive decline.

Lying on Facebook leads to false memories

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Do you fabricate your profile on Facebook to earn more likes? Remember that this habit can lead to feelings of shame and worthlessness later in life.

According to a new survey, almost two-thirds of social media users lie to “airbrush reality” and make their lives seem more interesting than they are.

Young adults say they frequently lie about their relationships, promotions at work and holidays on social media.

One in 10 teenagers admit their subsequent recollections of the events they wrote about have already been distorted, Daily Mail reported.

Why physical violence affects women so adversely

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A new study has revealed that physical violence against women by male partners disrupts a key steroid hormone that opens the door potentially to a variety of negative health effects.

The study by the University of Oregon and the Oregon Social Learning Center looked at daily fluctuations of cortisol levels in men and women.

Cortisol levels typically rise as people wake up, peak shortly thereafter and then decline rapidly. Researchers compared the cortisol levels with the frequency of interpersonal violence as reported by both partners in the relationships.

Controversial comedy The Interview makes debut on Apple iTunes

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The controversial movie The Interview has finally made its debut on iTunes which is available to rent for six dollars or buy for 15 dollars.

The controversial comedy that was released in independent cinemas in the U.S. on Christmas, has since been available on YouTube Movies, Google Play, Xbox and a dedicated Sony-built website Seetheinterview.com, reported CNET.

Sony Pictures had initially cancelled the release of the movie following a cyberattack and threats to moviegoers.

The U.S. linked the cyber attack to North Korea after sensitive studio information was publicly released.

Uber announces additional safety measures in India in wake of New Delhi rape case

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Under fire taxi company Uber has announced additional safety measures in India in the wake of the recent incident where one of its drivers raped a woman passenger in New Delhi.

According to Tech Crunch, the precautions were announced ahead of a hearing that the local Transport Department would be having on Monday to determine whether Uber and other mobile transportation services should be allowed to operate there.

Twitter goes down for some Android users

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If you are facing a problem logging into your Twitter account from an Android device, you are not alone.

There have been several complaints from users of logging out of their Twitter accounts from Android apps and some third part accounts like TweetDeck.

Users who tried to log into Twitter were met with an error message and were not be able to get access to their account, GeekWire reported.

TweetDeck users reported that all their tweets show as 365 days old.

New Mars route may make manned mission cheaper and easier

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A new route to Mars could make manned missions much cheaper, easier and more frequent, researchers say.

Getting spacecraft to Mars is quite a hassle and transportation costs can soar into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now new research lays out a smoother, safer way to achieve Martian orbit.

Called ballistic capture, the method could help open the Martian frontier for more robotic missions, future manned expeditions and even colonisation efforts, Scientific American reported.

Three apps will help you keep New Year resolutions

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Do you find keeping New Year’s resolutions a Herculean task? Download these apps.

A trio of apps called Lift, Workflow and Hours will help you keep your resolutions, the Washington Post reported.

The Lift app offers a menu of self-improvement, which helps to set priorities for each day.

Lift will also guide you through one-on-one chats with a personal coach at the cost of $15 a week.

Available for Android and iOS devices, the app also breaks your goals down into doable steps so that you can start to build healthier habits.

Facebook apologizes to grieving father for pain caused by ‘Year in Review’ feature

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Facebook has apologized for the grief its new feature “Year In Review” brought to a web designer who named the app as “inadvertent algorithmic cruelty ” because it forced him to relive the pain of losing his daughter as the feature generated a scrapbook of selected photographs from the user’s past one year on the social networking site including pictures of his late daughter Rebecca.

Google Glass to help mothers monitor newborns

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A US hospital is set to use Google Glass to enable mothers stay in contact with their newborns even after the infants are shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

The experiment is to be conducted at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston next week, Glass Almanac, the leading website for Google Glass enthusiasts, reported.

The suggestion for the test was mooted by the hospital’s nurse Stephanie Shine, whose baby remained in newborn ICU for 101 days.

Hundreds of babies have to be separated from their mothers after birth because one or both of them need immediate care.

Facebook adopts worker-friendly management technique

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To effectively shape its overwhelmingly young work force into future leaders, the social networking site Facebook has adopted a set of somewhat unconventional management techniques.

The new guidelines cater to employees’ thirst for freedom as well as their aversion to inertia and top-down leadership, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The recommendations involve a conversational management style, whereby even entry-level employees would be encouraged to question the manager’s decisions, and offer their own solutions and feedback.