Google maps find alien ‘spaceship’ on Moon?

Aliens on Moon? A mysterious triangular wedge-shaped object which looks somewhat like an alien ‘spaceship’ has been spotted on the Moon by Google maps.

The controversial images appear to show the object with a row of seven light dots along the edge, and many UFO sites have reportedly likened the object to an alien spaceship.

The two-sided object on the lunar surface was discovered by a paranormal researcher, identified as WowForReel, who posted a video of the finding online,’Metro.Co.Uk’ reported.

“It’s unique and unusual in the area,” said WowForReel.

DDoS use mobile phones to mount attack

Mobile devices are reportedly being used for mounting attacks on businesses by Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attackers. Prolexic Technologies’ President Stuart Scholly said that by 2014, applications commonly used in DDoS attacks like Low Orbit Ion Canon (LOIC) will increasingly become ported to mobile platforms.

Now, wear different faces using FaceSubstitute

A tech demo known as FaceSubsitute lets you wear someone else’s face by mapping your face on the webcam. The browser based app, built by Norwegian developer Audun Mathias Oygard uses WebGL and ClmTracker, a Javascript library built specifically for facial feature tracking. The app includes celebrity faces, random stranger faces, cartoon masks and a different category called Abstract that intentionally distorts one’s face, Tech Crunch reported. However, the app has slight glitches which include dropping of jaw of the pseudo face after some time.

Microsoft re-releases modified Surface Pro 2 update

Microsoft is set to re-release its latest Surface Pro 2 firmware update today, replacing the existing version that reported failed installations and battery issues post updating. While Microsoft recently came up with an improved version of Surface Pro firmware update for its original tablet, the latest firmware update follows a similar software patch as that of Microsoft”s latest ARM-based tablet.

Reliance Jio to offer voice services too, says official

The voice-dominated domestic telecom space is set to liven up further with corporate giant Reliance Industries, the only national licence holder for 4G spectrum, Friday saying it will be offering not just high speed data but voice services as well.

“We will definitely be offering voice … The fact that we have submitted the application for participating in the forthcoming 2G and 3G spectrum auctions makes it clear that we are going to enter the voice space,” Reliance Group Chief Financial Officer Alok Agarwal told reporters here.

First black hole orbiting a ‘spinning’ star found

Scientists have discovered the first binary system ever known to consist of a black hole and a ‘spinning’ star.

The discovery was made possible by observations from the Liverpool and Mercator telescopes at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in Canary Islands, Spain.

‘Spinning’ star or Be-type stars are quite common across the Universe. In our Galaxy alone more than 80 of them are known in binary systems together with neutron stars.

China’s lunar probe observes stars, explores Moon

China’s lunar probe mission, which made the first soft-landing on the Moon since 1976, has collected a large amount of space observation and exploration data, authorities said today.

The mission, comprising the lander Chang’e-3 and rover Yutu, was launched in December as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme.

‘Mystery’ rock’s appearance in front of Mars Rover puzzles scientists

A rock that mysteriously appeared in front of the Mars Rover a few days back, has left scientists baffled.

NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) lead scientist Steve Squyres of Cornell University reported appearance of a suspected gypsum near Endeavour Crater ‘s rim – a region of Meridiani Planum that Opportunity has been researching since 2011 – and the discovery of clays, which likely formed in a pH-neutral wet environment in early Mars, Discovery News reported.

Next-gen HTC One to be bigger, faster with twin-sensor rear camera

HTC One”s next-gen model is reportedly said to be bigger, faster and include a twin-sensor rear camera. The smartphone, a successor to last year”s HTC One is speculated to arrive by the end of Q1 in late March this year. According to Cnet, the smartphone is expected to have a 5-inch or larger display along with a Snapdragon 800 or Snapdragon 805 processor making the smartphone faster.

`Mystery` rock`s appearance in front of Mars Rover puzzles scientists

A rock that mysteriously appeared in front of the Mars Rover a few days back, has left scientists baffled.

NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) lead scientist Steve Squyres of Cornell University reported appearance of a suspected gypsum near Endeavour Crater’s rim – a region of Meridiani Planum that Opportunity has been researching since 2011 – and the discovery of clays, which likely formed in a pH-neutral wet environment in early Mars, Discovery News reported.

Formation site of giant planetary system discovered

: A team of astronomers has obtained proof of formation of a giant planetary system around a young star by the observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

The research team, led by astronomers at Osaka University and Ibaraki University, observed a young star named HD 142527 in the constellation Lupus (the Wolf) with ALMA.

The ALMA image shows that cosmic dust, which is component material of planets, is circling around the star in a form of asymmetric ring.

iBerry launches smartphone Auxus Nuclea N2

Technology company iBerry Saturday launched its fully-loaded Auxus Nuclea N2 smartphone at a six-day introductory offer price of Rs.19,990.

The octa-core processor-based Auxus Nuclea N2 comes with 16GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 64GB using MicroSD card.

Nuclea N2 supports both micro SIM and a regular SIM on its respective dual SIM slot, according to a company release.

Post the introductory offer period, the phone will cost Rs.23,990.

A 3500mAh Li-ion battery is used in this smartphone with which users can expect talk-time of more than 12 hours.

China develops cellphone operating system

China has developed its own cellphone operating system aimed at easing the stranglehold of the US’ Google and Apple systems, even as sceptics doubt its efficacy.

Dubbed as the China Operating System (COS) it is a strategic product for national security which has become more urgent in the wake of recent incidents such as the US intelligence scandal of Prism and Windows ending further support of its XP system, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said in a statement.

Why mornings are dark in January revealed

Scientists have revealed that the reason behind dark mornings in January can be explained with a formula called the ‘Equation of Time’.

Scientist have explained that if Earth’s axis were perpendicular to its orbit instead of tilted, and if its orbit were a circle instead of an ellipse, then the Sun would appear in the same spot in the sky each day and clocks and sundials would always match, the Daily Express reported.

First black hole orbiting ‘spinning’ star discovered

Spanish scientists have discovered what may be the first binary system ever known to consist of a black hole and a “spinning” star, which is more accurately known as a Be-type star.

Although predicted by theory, none had previously been found.

The observations that led to the discovery were performed with the Liverpool and Mercator telescopes at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (Canary Islands, Spain).

Be-type stars are quite common across the universe. In our galaxy alone more than 80 of them are known in binary systems together with neutron stars.

Cultivation of plants possible on Mars: Researcher

Cultivation of various plant species, also food plants, is possible on the soil of Mars, according to ecologist Wieger Wamelink of the Dutch research institute Alterra of Wageningen University.

To investigate whether it is possible to grow plants in the soil of Mars and on the moon, researchers undertook an experiment with 14 plant species on artificial Martian and lunar soil, provided by NASA, Xinhua reported. The experiment lasted 50 days.

Newly discovered galaxy puzzles astronomers

Researchers are puzzled over their new discovery of Himiko, which is an enormous galaxy, with a hot glowing gaseous halo extending over 55,000 light-years.

Himiko is extraordinarily distant, seen at a time approximately 800 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 6 percent of its present size and stars and galaxies were just beginning to form.

Climate scientists bark up the big tree

Despite their greater age, big, old trees do more than small, young ones to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, said a study that explores how well forests slow global warming.

The findings overturn the conventional view that old, large trees are relatively unproductive in absorbing heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

In more than 400 tree species studied, it was the bigger and older specimens that grew fastest and trapped most carbon, the scientists found.

Slide in `Google-esque` office lets you change floors in 3 secs flat!

Managers at an office have installed a giant indoor metal slide to take workers from one floor to the other in just three seconds.

The 20ft-long stainless steel tube was added to create a sense of fun for staff at the Workshop offices in Folkestone, Kent, the Daily Star reported. The owners also claimed that the slide, which features a camera inside that takes pictures as people whizz down from the fifth to the fourth floor, adds to the “Google-esque” feel of the offices. (ANI)

Shun paid software to ensure privacy:Stallman

Pressing for collective efforts to resist online surveillance by governments, free software advocate Richard Stallman today said people’s privacy could be in danger when they use non-free software since majority of them “are used for spying”.

Governments and educational institutions must switch over to free software for computing as it stands for users’ freedom, he said delivering a lecture on “A Free Digital Society”, organised by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and Society for Promotion of Alternate Computing and Employment (SPACE).

Huawei reports $4.8 billion profit in 2013

China’s top telecom firm Huawei Technologies estimated its operating profit jumped 47 percent in 2013 to about USD 4.8 billion on the back of reduced costs and improving business with consumers and enterprises.

Huawei forecasts of 28.6 billion yuan to 29.4 billion yuan (USD 4.8 billion) in unaudited operating profit in 2013, chief financial officer Cathy Meng was quoted as saying by the Chinese state media here today.

Exoplanet orbiting star identical to sun discovered

Astronomers have discovered a new exoplanet orbiting a star that is a rare solar twin – a star that is almost identical to the Sun in all respects.

Using ESO’s HARPS planet hunter in Chile, along with other telescopes around the world, astronomers discovered three planets orbiting stars in the cluster Messier 67.

Although more than one thousand planets outside the Solar System are now confirmed, only a handful have been found in star clusters.

Planets orbiting stars outside the Solar System are now known to be very common.

NASA invites public to send names on 2016’s asteroid mission

NASA is inviting people to submit their names to be etched on a microchip aboard a spacecraft headed towards the asteroid Bennu in 2016.

The ” Messages to Bennu!” microchip is going to the asteroid aboard the agency’s Origins-Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft.

The robotic mission is going to spend more than 2 years at the 1,760-foot (500-meter)-wide asteroid, and will collect a sample of Bennu’s surface and return it to Earth in a sample return capsule.

Larger, high-intensity displays projected for Apple’s next iPhone in 2014

Apple’s next smartphone, iPhone 6 could have larger, higher-intensity displays this year, a research firm has predicted.

DisplaySearch has forecast speculations about screens that might arrive on Apple’s iPhone, iWatch, large iPads and Android tablets.

According to Cnet, the firm has predicted that iPhone 6 having 5.5-inch screen and a 1,920×1,080 display based on LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) LCD, as upgrades to the recently launched iPhone 5S.