New smartphone OS to rival Google”s Android

A new smartphone operating system to rival Google”s Android and Apple”s iOS is set for launch in the next few months. Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo said that the new OS is developed by a global collaboration of tech firms from Japan, China, South Korea, Europe and the United States.

Intel demonstrates latest Android-Windows 8.1 OS switching tech

Chipmaker Intel reportedly demonstrated its latest dual-OS switching technology that it has implemented in collaboration with Asus at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show ( CES) 2014 in Las Vegas.

The switching technology takes about three and a half seconds to swipe between operating systems that can be done with either a hardware or software key.

According to Cnet, Intel enables the rapid switching, while the way switching and file- and memory-sharing is implemented is a proprietary Asus technology.

NASA’s Swift clicks pics of X-ray action at Milky Way’s core

Recent observations by NASA’s Swift spacecraft have provided scientists a unique glimpse into the activity at the center of Milky Way galaxy and led to the discovery of a rare celestial entity which may help them test predictions of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

This X-ray image of the galactic center merges Swift XRT observations through 2013. Sgr A* is at center. Low-energy X-rays (300 to 1,500 electron volts) are shown in red, medium-energy (1,500 to 3,000 eV) in green, and high-energy (3,000 to 10,000 eV) in blue. The total exposure time is 12.6 days.

‘Mysterious’ gas cloud set to collide with supermassive black hole at Milky Way’s core

Astronomers have discovered that a mysterious gas cloud about three times the mass of Earth is spiraling towards the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s core.

The core lies more than 25,000 light-years away in the southern summer sky near the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius.

The gas cloud, called G2, was discovered by astronomers in Germany in 2011. They expected it to hit the black hole, called Sagittarius A* (pronounced Sagittarius A-star by astronomers), late last year.

Fossil pigments reveal millions-of-years-old sea monsters had black skin

Scientists have revealed the color of three multi-million-year old marine reptiles, suggesting that the pigment shows that these animals were, at least partially, dark-coloured in life, which is likely to have contributed to more efficient thermoregulation, as well as providing means for camouflage and UV protection.

Soon, control TV with ‘Fin Bluetooth ring’ that turns your hand into interface!

In the latest addition to host of wearable gadgets, a smart ring reportedly turns a user’s hand into an interface and allows them to control connected devices like TV , smartphone or another wearable device.

The ‘ Fin Bluetooth ring’, developed by RHL Vision, is able detect swipes and taps across the wearer’s hand and when it detects a gesture, it sends the command off to the connected devices.

World’s fastest organic transistor developed

Two university research teams collaborated to develop thin, transparent semiconductors, which could become the foundation for cheap, high-performance displays.

Research teams led by Zhenan Bao, professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, and Jinsong Huang, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering at University of Nebraska-Lincoln used their new process to make organic thin-film transistors with electronic characteristics comparable to those found in expensive, curved-screen television displays based on a form of silicon technology.

Unveiled! Early galaxies that formed new stars

Welcome to the most-exhaustive, brightest and mysterious world of ‘unseen’ galaxies ever found.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered the long-suspected underlying population of galaxies that produced the bulk of new stars during the universe’s early years, said a study.

The newly discovered galaxies are 100 times more numerous than their more massive cousins.

“But they are 100 times fainter than galaxies typically detected in previous deep-field surveys of the early universe,” said study leader Brian Siana of the University of California.

NASA extends space station life to 2024

The International Space Station will operate for an additional four years, or until 2024, the US space agency said today.

“This is a tremendous announcement for us here in the space station world,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

The USD 100 billion orbiting outpost has been operational for 15 years, and had been expected to remain open to global collaborators until 2020.

Panasonic unveils world”s `lightest, thinnest pocketable fully-rugged` Windows tablet

Panasonic has reportedly unveiled what is touted as the world”s lightest, thinnest, pocketable and fully-rugged Windows tablet at the ongoing CES 2014 in Las Vegas.

Adding to its Toughpad range of tablets, the electronic manufacturer announced the 7-inch Windows Tablet, dubbed Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1, equipped with Intel i5 vProTM processor and Intel Celeron processor. The tablet weighs approximately 540g and is designed to create new value for users with a more realistic and intuitive operating environment.

Now, pay for drinks at nightclub by just saying your name with Bluetooth `BarTab` feature

A new feature added to WillCall”s concert ticket app reportedly allows user to order drinks at a nightclub by simply saying their name.

The BarTab feature within WillCall app lets users buy drinks at participating venues by saying their name, and the bartender can identify the guest via Bluetooth Low Energy. According to Tech Crunch, it doesn”t matter if the user has bought their tickets through WillCall or not as the participating bar would ping the WillCall app over Bluetooth Low Energy.

Apple facing setbacks with smartwatch production

Apple is facing several hurdles in its attempt to design a smartwatch. The hurdles include unsatisfactory battery performance attributed to display issues. Apple has explored switching the display technology used within its smartwatch, though The Information doesn”t mention what sort of panels are under consideration. According to the Verge, Apple also called off production of iWatch components with one supplier late last year. Media reports claim that Apple is now have a sizable team working on bringing its first smartwatch to market.

Yahoo acquires ”intelligent homescreen” startup Aviate

Yahoo has acquired Aviate, a startup whose technology brings information to mobile home screens from a user”s Android apps. CEO Marissa Mayer made the announcement during her Consumer Electronics Show keynote. According to TechCrunch, Mayer suggested that Yahoo could use Aviate”s technology to deliver its content in ways that are ”smarter and more personalized”. Aviate auto-categorizes apps on Android phone and intelligently gathers them into ”spaces”.

Pentagon working on tech to make electronic gadgets disappear

A division of the Pentagon is reportedly working on a technology that could make biodegradable electronics dissolve after someone triggers them to do so. The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), research company SRI International and manufacturing enterprise Honeywell are together working on the ”Vanishing Programmable Resources” programme to develop such electronics. According to Mashable, SRI International received a 4.7 million dollars government contract to help out DARPA.

Harry Potter`s invisibility cloak comes closer to reality

Scientists have pointed out that with the emergence of metamaterials and transformation optics, invisibility has become a scientific possibility.

Recently, a review paper reviewed pointed out that the combination of “forward designs” and “inverse designs” rather than using a single cloaking strategy is very likely to make invisibility cloaks far more realistic.

Reactivated NASA probe finds never-before-seen asteroid

NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) probe has found a never-before-seen asteroid – its first such discovery since it was brought out of hibernation last year.

NEOWISE’s first discovery of its renewed mission came on Dec. 29 — a near-Earth asteroid designated 2013 YP139. The mission’s sophisticated software picked out the moving object against a background of stationary stars.

As NEOWISE circled Earth scanning the sky, it observed the asteroid several times over half a day before the object moved beyond its view.

Sun emits first ‘X-class’ solar flare of 2014

The sun emitted it’s first ‘X-class’ solar flare of 2014 at 1:32 pm EST on Tuesday.

The ‘X-class’ solar flare followed on the heels of mid-level flare earlier in the day.

Each flare was centered over a different area of a large sunspot group currently situated at the center of the sun, about half way through its 14-day journey across the front of the disk along with the rotation of the sun.

Planets fartherer from stars than normal norm could also be habitable

Researchers have claimed that Earth-sized planets that are at least 10 times further away from stars could support life.

The University of Aberdeen team, which included academics from the University of St Andrews, said cold rocky planets thought uninhabitable might be able to support life beneath the surface, the BBC reported.

PhD student Sean McMahon said that a planet needs to be not too close to its sun but also not too far away for liquid water to persist, rather than boiling or freezing, on the surface.

ESA’s billion-star surveyor Gaia enters operational orbit

ESA’s billion-star surveyor Gaia is now finally in its operational orbit around a gravitationally stable virtual point in space called ‘L2’, which is 1.5 million km from Earth.

Gaia has been travelling towards L2 since December 19, when, just before dawn local time, it was spectacularly launched from ESA’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

A day later, Gaia performed an important thruster burn to set course to its destination.

Toshiba unveils ‘shape-shifting’ 5-in-1 concept PC

Toshiba has unveiled a new PC that can physically change into five different modes. At the Consumer Electronics Show, Toshiba displayed a 5-in-1 concept.

According to the Verge, the ‘shape-shifting concept PC’ has a laptop mode that includes the traditional clamshell design, and a convertible tablet mode.

The PC comes in three parts-screen, keyboard and kickstand-that can be arranged into different usage models.

There’s also a presentation mode where you can rotate the base and detach the keyboard to create a screen for viewing, the report added. (ANI)

Apple replaces rectangular buttons with circular in iOS 7.1 beta 3

Apple has replaced its rectangular buttons with circular ones for the phone dialer, in-call screen, and power off screen in its latest release of iOS 7.1 beta 3 mobile operating system.

The company has also added new options for setting the wallpaper, and gradient changes to the icons for the Facetime, Messages and Phone apps, TechCrunch reports.

According to the report, screens associated with phone calls are getting a makeover, with round green and red buttons at the bottom of the dialer and call-in-progress screen, respectively.

‘Stopping’ global warming artificially could lead to climate chaos in poor countries

Scientists have warned that the proposal to ward off global warming by cooling earth artificially could lead to climate disorder like drought in poorest countries, particularly in Africa, South America and Asia.

The Geo-engineering plan involves injecting small reflective sulphate particles into the upper atmosphere to decrease incoming solar radiation, the Independent reported.

Andrew Charlton-Perez of the University of Reading said that the study shows that one of the leading candidates for geo-engineering could cause a new unintended side-effect over a large part of the planet.

Radioactive particles from nuclear tests still prevalent in atmosphere

A new study has found that radioactive particles from nuclear tests that took place decades ago persist in the upper atmosphere.

Previously, scientists believed that nuclear debris found high above the Earth would now be negligible.

However, this research shows that plutonium and caesium isotopes are still present at surprisingly high concentrations, the BBC reported.

Massive exoplanets may be more Earth-like than previously believed

A team of researchers have said that massive exoplanets, called “Super-Earths,” are much likelier to have an Earth-like climate than previously believed.

Nicolas B. Cowan, a post doctoral fellow at Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, and Dorian Abbot , an assistant professor in geophysical sciences at University of Chicago, new model conclude that most tectonically active super-Earths — regardless of mass — store most of their water in the mantle and will have both oceans and exposed continents, enabling a stable climate like Earth’s.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally not to be next Microsoft chief

Ford CEO Alan Mulally has reportedly announced that he has decided to not become the next chief at Microsoft and continue leading his current company.

For months, speculations have been intensifying about who would become the heir to the coveted throne of outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer, with potential candidates in the run being Indian-originSatya Nadella, ex-Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Tony Bates, and Mulally.

According to Cnet, Mulally announced that he will not leave Ford 0to join Microsoft and would stay with his current company at least through 2014.