MARS PANORAMA

It is fantastic! You can move the image around or up and down. The clarity is amazing. Definitely expand it to full screen and be amazed at the views...WOW

Here's a complete panorama image of Mars taken from the Curiosity camera. Just click on

Mars Panorama.

Interactive 360 degree panorama viewers

To view the cylindric or spherical panorama in a way which you call an Interactive VR Panorama you need a viewer.

During the last years the fullscreen idea introduced by panoramas.dk has been adapted to many other viewers than Quicktime and with the introduction of Flash panorama viewers and the option for Fullscreen in Flash 9 you can now enjoy real fullscreen panoramas which covers all your screen.

Kindle Fire HD: First impressions

Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD boasts a much more vibrant screen than the original tablet that came out about a year ago. That makes buying movies and TV shows to watch on the device a lot more appealing.

The screen is such a major improvement that I can't see why you would purchase the upgraded non-HD older model, even if it means saving $40. The new offering brings the new Kindle Fire HD into closer competition with Apple's market-leading iPad, which introduced a higher resolution screen earlier this year.

By the numbers, the difference between screens on the new and older model doesn't seem that big. The smaller Kindle Fire HD, with a screen measuring 7 inches diagonally has a screen resolution of 1280 x 800. Last year's 7-inch model, and the upgraded version with better innards unveiled Thursday, has a screen with 1024 x 600 pixels.

That doesn't come close to the latest iPad, which has a resolution of 2048 x 1536. Nonetheless, this upgrade feels like a big leap for Amazon. It means not seeing any of those annoying pixels, a welcome relief that feels even better when you consider the price. At $199, versus $499 for the latest iPad, I can see this being a popular stocking stuffer this Christmas.

Amazon has also made a couple of important design changes in its new HD models. For one, the speakers are now on both sides of the device when held in landscape mode, meaning you can watch movies in Dolby Digital Plus stereo sound without headphones. The old Kindle Fire had stereo speakers off to one side when held this way, and that hasn't changed with the upgraded version that now costs $159.

Both the upgraded Kindle Fire and new HD 7-inch models also come with a full suite of new features that are nifty but not game-changing.

Both devices will feature the "X-Ray" series of features that provide insights into the book or movie you're enjoying.

An on-screen tap during a movie will list actors in the scene, with more clicks, you can learn more about them from Amazon's movie information service IMDb. In books, X-Ray has been a popular feature on the Kindle Touch that now works on Kindle Fire. It gives you a bird's eye view of where characters or ideas appear later on in a book.

Amazon.com Inc. has also upgraded its audio book offerings. "Immersion Reading" allows you to read a book while hearing narration from a famous actor. I find this feature to be a distraction, but some book lovers will appreciate it.

For parents, Amazon has added a system that can control how much time a child can spend on various media. So, you could limit how much your kids can watch video and play games, but let them read as much as they want.

The 7-inch models ship Sept. 14. The larger 8.9-inch screen Kindle Fire HD, which costs at least $299 and comes with an even better 1920 x 1200 pixel screen, won't ship until Nov. 20.

Isro's 100th mission: PSLV-C21 puts 2 foreign satellites in orbit

The Indian space odyssey crossed a historic landmark on Sunday when a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) put in orbit two foreign satellites.

It marked the 100th space mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) which started the journey in 1975 with the launch of its first satellite 'Aryabhata.'

Among those who watched the majestic rocket lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, 100km north of Chennai, was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

At the end of a 51-hour countdown that started on Friday, PSLV-C21 lifted off at 9.53am. After 17 minutes and 49 seconds, it injected the first satellite, the French SPOT-6, into orbit. Soon, the second satellite, the Japenese Proiteres was put in orbit. There were, however, some anxious moments when the trajectory on the giant screens at the mission control room showed the rocket's blip deviate slightly midflight, which appeared to have been corrected later.

Scientists cheered and shook hands as the mission was pronounced a success and the Prime Minister congratulated the scientists. "India is justly proud of its space scientists who have overcome many odds to develop our own technology for space missions," he said.

It was PSLV's 21st consecutively successful flight. PSLV-C21 is India's 38th satellite launch vehicle to lift off from Sriharikota. It has so far put in orbit 62 Indian satellites. The two numbers add up the century that Isro celebrated on Sunday.

Besides buttressing its technological mastery, Isro, with its latest launch, has cemented its place in among the space-faring nations as a sought-after commercial launcher. Isro's commercial arm Antrix Corporation has received several requests from foreign countries to launch their satellites for a price.

ISRO's 100th mission ready to take off, Prime Minister to witness event

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is on the verge of a historic century as it gears up for its 100th indigenous mission today. The space agency's old warhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), will blast off into space with two foreign satellites from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to witness the landmark event as the PSLV is scheduled to take off at 9:51am.

"Reaching a hundred is an important milestone like in cricket, but this ISRO's century is unique as each mission is unique...there have been failures and successes but overall, the future is very bright," K Kasturirangan, former chief and a member of ISRO, said.

During the 51-hour countdown that began at 6:51 am on September 7, mandatory checks on the launch vehicle and spacecraft would be carried out and charging of batteries and pressurisation of propellant tanks on board the satellite would be performed, ISRO had said.

As part of the mission, 720-kg SPOT-6 remote sensing satellite from France (built by ASTRIUM SAS) and a 15-kg Japanese spacecraft PROITERES would be placed in orbit by ISRO's PSLV C-21. The launch of the foreign satellites is also indicative of the rapid strides made by ISRO in furthering the nation's space programme - today's launch, a purely commercial one, has firmly placed the country in a select club of rocket-makers on which private utilities can bank upon to launch their operational satellites in a cost-effective and reliable manner.

"In this 100th launch, there is a reversal of roles where an Indian launcher is carrying a French satellite," Francois Richier, French Ambassador to India, said on the major milestone. 

India, indeed, has come a long way since it launched its first satellite, Aryabhatta, in 1975. So far, the government has spent around $12 billion on ISRO, a miniscule amount compared to the US' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which has an annual budget of $17 billion. Despite that, the space agency has, to its credit, some major achievements.

So far, ISRO has launched 63 Indian-made satellites and 36 indigenous rockets. The country's first unmanned moon mission in October 2008, Chandrayaan-1, was a huge success. The space agency has also pioneered satellite television in the country and also catalysed the telecom boom.

But the successes have also been interrupted by some massive failures. ISRO has failed to master big rocket launches what with several mid-air rocket explosions. More recently, the controversial Antrix-Devas deal involving commercial satellites have clouded the agency. It has also been unable to meet the demands for more transponders for satellite television.

Japan‘s Sony hit by fresh cyberattack as hackers steal details of 400 clients

Sony said Thursday that hackers stole details belonging to hundreds of its mobile unit clients, the latest in a string of cyber attacks to hit the embattled Japanese electronics giant. 

A group calling itself "Null\Crew" said it had attacked a mobile communications server, with a Sony spokesman confirming the cyber thieves had grabbed information belonging to 400 customers in mainland China and Taiwan. 

NullCrew, which reportedly has links to international computer hacking group Anonymous, posted online usernames, e-mails and some passwords along with a statement critical of the Japanese firm. 

"Sony, we are dearly disappointed in your security," it said, adding that it had gained control of eight Sony servers, which could not be immediately confirmed. 

"Not even your customers can trust you," it added. 

The company spokesman said the incident was being investigated and added that the server with client details belonged to an unnamed "third party", and not Sony itself. 

In April last year Sony suffered a massive data breach that compromised more than 100 million accounts and forced it to temporarily halt its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. 

And in October, the firm suspended 93,000 accounts on its online entertainment networks, which let users play videogames and watch movies, after detecting a wave of unauthorised sign-in attempts. 

The entertainment giant has been battling to restore consumer trust after the initial security gaffe, with a string of subsequent attacks on websites including in Greece, Thailand and Indonesia. 

In another incident, a group of hackers known as Lulz Security in June said they had compromised more than one million passwords, email addresses and other information from SonyPictures.com.

Radio waves used to wirelessly power tiny heart implant

Implantable medical devices are becoming more common everyday. The problem is that no matter how sophisticated the devices are, most still depend on batteries for power. One solution to this is for the power source to remain outside the body and to beam the power to the device. However, that has its own difficulties because wireless power can’t penetrate very far through human tissue ... until now.

Ada Poon, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, and doctoral candidates Sanghoek Kim and John Ho have demonstrated that it’s possible to construct a super-small implantable cardiac device the size of a 1.6 millimeter-wide cube. The device uses gigahertz-frequency radio waves that can power extremely small devices five centimeters (1.96 in) inside the chest on the surface of the heart – a depth once thought impossible.

Existing models indicated that radio waves don’t penetrate very far into human tissues without low frequencies and large antennae. Poon demonstrated that high frequency waves penetrate deeper than expected when she recently demonstrated a wirelessly-powered device capable of swimming in the bloodstream.

Poon’s current device is powered by a combination of inductive and radiative transmission. There’s an indirect relationship between frequency and size of the antenna needed to receive a signal or, in this case, power. The longer or shorter the transmitted frequency, the longer or shorter the antenna. One example of this is AC power wires. The wires snaking from tower to tower act as long antennae that transmit a low frequency radio signal. A small metal object like a pen knife is too small to pick up that signal, but an old-fashioned steel fishing pole might and has on occasion resulted in fishermen getting a nasty shock.

The same principle works in reverse. A shorter wavelength means smaller power receiving coils and that means smaller devices. Poon found that a 1.7 gigahertz signal penetrates living tissue much deeper than low frequency ones and allowed a tenfold increase in power transfer while making the antenna ten times smaller. A millimeter coil was able to handle 50 microwatts, which is a whole order of magnitude greater than previous devices.

Other problems that Poon's team had to face were making sure that the device met the health standards set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This dovetailed with the need for a receiving antenna design that did not have to be pointed in a particular direction, so that the device could be implanted on a heart, and a transmitting antenna with precise focus that would power the device without heating neighboring tissue.

Poon foresees broad applications for the technology, including swallowable endoscopes, permanent pacemakers, precision brain stimulators or any other implantable medical device.

Aakash 2: Challenging to make a quality tablet @ Rs 2276

Chinese PC maker Lenovo on Wednesday said it may look at the proposition of a participation in India's Aakash tabletproject, though it would be difficult to produce a tablet with a great user experience at the proposed price of Rs 2276 ($41).

"We are aware of the project and looking at that proposition. We don't disclose about tenders we are participating. In my personal view, it's very challenging to produce a tablet at that price, which can carry a great customer experience," said Keith Liu, Business Development Director for Mobile Internet Digital Home division at Lenovo across Asia Pacific & Latin America regions.

Liu heads the tablet business for Lenovo, second largest tablet player in China after Samsung. "As a person who studies the tablet market closely, I can say that the bill of materials will be high if you want to produce a quality tablet. At that (proposed) price, you may have to make the tablet limited in certain ways and functions," Liu said.

India's Aakash tablet project is envisaged by its Ministry of Human Resource and Development. It plans to distribute about a million tablets in colleges in the coming years, at a procurement price per tablet of Rs 2276 ($41). It has awarded a contract for 100,000 tablets to UK'sDatawind, which is under testing phase at IITs since a year.

The limitations on price has made many large tablet players such as Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and HCL to not participate in the past tablet tender. The world's tablet market is expected to cross about 45 million tablets this year. India is expected to sell about 1.5 million tablets in 2012.

"Besides cost, repair of a tablet currently is a large percentage of the actual price. Servicing the tablets can cause the margins to easily dip into negative territory," he added. The Aakash project being run under India's National Mission for Education through ICT, mandates the contracted party to also handle the service and support for the tablets.

"We are instead bringing out tablets with all the features which we think will be great for the user at retail and corporate levels," Liu said. Lenovo became the largest PC seller in India last quarter beating leader Dell. The firm will launch its ThinkPad 2 tablet next month on Windows 8 Pro, expected to be priced upwards of Rs 10,000 depending upon memory size and OS version.

Lenovo is setting up its global tablet manufacturing facility at Wuhan in China.

India is however insisting on a made (or assembled) in India stamp for its cheapest tablet project. IIT Bombay is currently testing the Aakash tablets which are assembled in Hyderabad. The IIT has proposed to upgrade the tablet features to 1GHz processor, from the current 800 MHz processor. It has also proposed to upgrade the operating system from Android 2.2 to Android 4.0 for the same price of Rs 2276.

IBM upgraded by Barclays over new mainframes

Barclays Capital upgraded International Business Machines "overweight" from "equal-weight", saying the company's new mainframe computers will help it gain market share fromHewlett-Packard and Dell. 

IBM, the dominant provider of mainframe computers, or machines that run on powerful microprocessors of its own design, unveiled a new version of its iconic mainframe computer last week. 

"Earnings should benefit from a new mainframe cycle - shares have outperformed the market after each of the last three mainframes that were announced - and IBM announced its new mainframe earlier-than-expected just last week," Barclays' analyst Ben Reitzes wrote in a note to clients. 

IBM, considered a bellwether for the global enterprise IT sector, had said it spent more than $1 billion in developing the updated machines. 

Reitzes, who raised his target on the IBM to $240 from $208, sees the company's analytics strategy to drive higher margin revenue streams over the coming years. 

"IBM is one of the few companies in our sector that fits snugly in the third column of our tech investment strategy - called the "Apple-safe" column - where its revenue streams are not caught in Apple's disruptive crosshairs," Reitzes said. 

Boeing demonstrates swarm technology

Individually, insects have proven a deep well of inspiration for robotics engineers looking to mimic designs refined over millions of years of evolution. Now Boeing has demonstrated swarm technology for reconnaissance missions using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that is similar to the way insects communicate and work together as an intelligent group. Potential uses for the technology include search-and-rescue missions and identifying enemy threats ahead of ground patrols.

In flight tests over the rugged terrain of eastern Oregon last month, different types of UAVs worked together to search the test area by autonomously generating waypoints and mapping the terrain, while simultaneously sending information to teams on the ground. The mission used two Insitu-manufactured ScanEagles and one Procerus Unicorn from The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), which communicated using a Mobile Ad Hoc Network and swarm technology developed by JHU/APL.

"This is a milestone in UAV flight," said Gabriel Santander, BoeingAdvanced Autonomous Networks program director and team leader. "The test team proved that these unmanned aircraft can collect and use data while communicating with each other to support a unified mission."

JHU/APL principal investigator Dave Scheidt says that the decentralized swarm technology demonstrated in the flight tests has the potential to improve response times while reducing manning requirements when compared to current systems. A broader demonstration of the swarm technology is planned for next month.

This isn't the first time we've seen researchers turn to insects to develop flight strategies for swarms of aerial vehicles. The Swarming Micro Air Vehicle Network (SMAVNET) Project used the pheromone paths laid down by army ants help plot the most economical course for MAVs that would be deployed in disaster areas to quickly create communication networks for rescuers.

World record quadrocopter swarm puts on impressive light show

Many see small quadrocopters as the future of surveillance, aerial photography, warfare and even construction, but a new demonstration involving a world record-setting swarm of 50 quadrocopters has shown the aircraft can also pull off some pretty impressive dance moves.

Outdoing the efforts of the University of Pennsylvania's GRASP Lab, the quadrocopter swarm put on a choreographed air show over the river Danube in Linz, Austria, as part of the annual Klangwolke (Cloud of Sound) open-air multimedia musical event that kicked off on September 1st.

The aerial display was put together by a team from Austria’s Ars Electronica Futurelab and Germany’s Ascending Technologies GmbH. The Ars Electronica team was responsible for creating the computerized choreography and equipping the standard model Hummingbird quadrocopters supplied by Ascending Technologies with special radio receivers and modified firmware. The vehicles were also equipped with LEDs to put on an eye-catching nighttime display.

With the theme of this year’s Klangwolke being how the world has become interconnected, from the discovery of electricity, to telecommunications, through to the invention of the internet, the quadrocopter swarm was intended to symbolize the virtual network and digital communities of our time.

Taiwan to step up cyberwar capabilities: Report

Taiwan plans to beef up its cyberwar capabilities to counter a perceived threat from Chinese hackers targeting government and security websites, local media reported Sunday. 

Taiwan will expand its cyberwar units next year while scaling back military spending due to budget constraints, the Taipei-based Liberty Times reported, citing a 2013 budget plan submitted by the National Security Bureauto parliament for approval. 

In the six months to June, hackers launched more than one million attacks on the bureau's website, making it one of the most heavily targeted government sites, the paper said. 

"All the attacks were detected and blocked, and no hackers have ever broken into the bureau's official website," the paper said, without specifying the number of attacks from China. 

But in a report also sent to parliament for reference on Beijing's continued military buildup, the bureau highlighted the perceived cyberwar threat from China, the paper said. 

"China's cyberwar capabilities were organised by the military and government units, using Internet viruses to attack Taiwan's government, economic and military websites," it cited the military report as saying. 

Taiwanese government websites have frequently come under cyberattack from China, usually during disputes between the two sides. 

Ties have improved markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008 on a platform of ramping up trade and tourism links with the mainland. Ma was reelected in January for a second and the last four-year term. 

China still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island has ruled itself for more than 60 years after their split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. 

Radical bi-directional flying wing design gets NASA funding

A team that has created a supersonic jet design resembling a flying shuriken has been awarded a US$100, 000 grant from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to continue development of the aircraft. Aside from looking suitably futuristic, the concept plane’s four-pointed star design serves a practical purpose. By rotating in mid air, the plane can transition between broad-wing subsonic and shorter wingspan supersonic configurations.

Aircraft design is usually a compromise between subsonic and supersonic performance. At low speeds, broad wings provide more lift and help minimize takeoff distance, while swept back wings with a smaller profile enhance performance at high speeds. Variable-sweep wing (or swing wing) aircraft, such as the F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer, get around this with wings that are spread broadly at takeoff and low speeds and can be swept back while in flight for improved performance at high speeds.

The supersonic bi-directional flying wing (SBiDir-FW) aircraft tackles the problem in a different way. It would take off in one orientation with broader wings, before rotating 90 degrees in flight to transition to high-speed mode with a shorter wing span.

“No matter how fast a supersonic plane can fly, it needs to take off and land at very low speed, which severely hurts the high-speed supersonic performance for a conventional airplane,” said Ge-Chen Zha, a professor in the University of Miami’s College of Engineering and principal investigator of the project. “The SBiDir-FW removes this performance conflict by rotating the airplane to fly in two different directions at subsonic and supersonic. Such rotation enables the SBiDir-FW to achieve superior performance at both supersonic and subsonic speeds.”

While conventional commercial aircraft consist of a tube-shaped fuselage attached to two wings that responsible for generating lift, as a flying wing, the entire surface of the SBiDir-FW is used to generate lift. Passengers and cargo would be contained within the wide span, thick, rounded airfoil used at low speeds, while the high-speed wing would have a shorter span and a thin-sharp-edged airfoil to reduce drag at supersonic speed.

The aircraft would rotate into supersonic configuration by folding winglets attached to the end of the wings in subsonic configuration. Folding them up again would see the aircraft rotate back again to subsonic orientation once again. The engine pod on the back of the aircraft would also be rotated when switching modes.

Zha hopes his SBiDir-FW will produce no sonic boom, have low supersonic wave drag, and low fuel consumption. A preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation for a SBiDir-FW business jet indicates that at speeds of Mach 1.6 to 2.0, there is no sonic boom.

“I am hoping to develop an environmentally friendly and economically viable airplane for supersonic civil transport in the next 20 to 30 years,” said Zha. “Imagine flying from New York to Tokyo in four hours instead of 15 hours.”

The $100,000 NIAC grant is intended to help the research team refine the aircraft design using CFD, examine the feasibility of the design, and conduct wind tunnel testing to verify the aircraft’s performance at supersonic speeds and its sonic boom signature. If all goes well, the team will be eligible for an addition $500,000 to continue development of the aircraft.

NASA’s WISE mission reports discovery of “millions” of black holes

US space agency NASA made an announcement about some of the results of its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, under which "millions" of likely super-massive black holes in space have been uncovered.

The WISE mission - involving the infrared space telescope which was launched to low-Earth orbit in late 2009 - has thus far obtained at least five images covering nearly 95 percent of the sky at four infrared wavelengths.
Along with reporting the discovery of millions of black holes, the mission has also found nearly 1,000 dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs), which have extremely high-temperatures, and have been labeled by NASA as "hot DOGs."
According to the information shared by NASA, the mammoth black holes identified by the WISE telescope could probably be examples, in the early universe, of the colossal black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. With galaxies and black holes being fairly young in the early universe, the super-massive black holes apparently provided the power source for the highly luminous objects called `quasars.'
Revealing that the WISE mission has discovered "a bonanza of black holes in the universe," astronomer Daniel Stern - of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California - said during an August 29 news briefing that the telescope can now identify numerous hidden quasars in the universe," and added: "We think these quasars are really important for shaping how galaxies look today."

Samsung launches ‘world’s thinnest’ notebook at Rs 1 lac

Samsung has launched its second-generation Series 9 notebook in India. The company claims that the device, which has a 13-inch screen, boasts the world's thinnest and most compact notebook chassis.

The laptop features Samsung's MaxScreen technology, which minimizes the bezel size while maximizing the screen size by an extra inch. It weighs just 1.16kg — 28% smaller than its predecessor. The laptop is powered by a third-generation (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7 processor. It has 256GB solid state drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics chip and a 1.3-megapixel web camera. The laptop is priced at Rs 1,02,990.

"The Series 9 notebook embodies the originality and heritage of its predecessor while eliminating unnecessary factors. The refined aerodynamic design of the new Series 9 represents the best of Samsung's design with top performance and functionality," said Ranjit Yadav, country head for Samsung's mobile and IT division.

Samsung claimed that Series 9 is result of 9,000 hours of design work and 24,000 hours of R&D by the company's engineers.

Samsung also launched Notebook Series 5 550P and Series 3 350 on Friday. The model with 15-inches screen in the series 550P weighs just 2.5 kg and is priced at Rs 62,990. It comes with Intel's 3rd generation quad core, a dedicated graphics card from Nvidia, Blu-Ray drive and up to 2TB hard disk. The Series 3 350 notebook is priced at Rs 48,490.

Canon C100 and C500 digital cinema cameras join the C300, plus four new lenses

Canon found itself in a strange position when the Digital Cinema "revolution" became mainstream. Having been a manufacturer of video camcorders for years it was surprised to find everybody wanting to use its still cameras to make movies. After adding a video function for press photographers, film-makers fell in love with the look provided by a large sensor and 24-frames a second. Canon (eventually) responded with the entirely new EOS C300 digital cinema camera nine months ago. Only two complaints with the C300 – too expensive and not 4K. Canon has now addressed those two little problems.
Unfortunately, not in the same camera though. We are dealing with a Japanese tech giant and market segmentation is the modus operandi; so we get the C500 4K camera to slot in above the C300 and the cheaper C100 to sit below.

Unfortunately, not in the same camera though. We are dealing with a Japanese tech giant and market segmentation is the modus operandi; so we get the C500 4K camera to slot in above the C300 and the cheaper C100 to sit below.

C100

The C100 is 15 percent smaller than the C300 and is being aimed at budget TV, indie film and event videographers. The viewfinder has been simplified and the 3.5 inch LCD monitor is fixed to the rear of the body. Button layout is rationalized and the camera is Canon EF mount only with no PL mount option. This allows autofocus and auto-iris, which are not possible on the manual-only C300

The good news is that the C100 uses exactly the same Super35-sized 8.3 MP sensor as the C300. The unique way the sensor works provides excellent picture quality and fantastic low-light performance. This is slightly compromised by the fact that that the 1920 x 1080 signal is recorded to SD cards using 24 Mbps AVCHD compression with 4:2:0 color sampling. The signal can be recorded uncompressed via the HDMI output using an external recorder but presumably still only with 4:2:0 sampling.

Naturally, no RAW output is available but there are a range of gamma adjustment options to allow the recording of pictures suitable for grading in post-production if needed or if a "filmic" look is required straight out of the camera.

Audio recording at 16-bit 48 kHz is possible and there are two XLR inputs in the removable top handle. There is also a side grip for “run and gun” single person shooting.

The C100 will be available within a couple of months for around US$8,000

C500

The C500 is very similar in form to the C300 with a similar sensor but of course adds the ability to output 4K (4096x2160 pixels) plus Quad HD and 2K pictures. Here’s the slightly strange kicker though. The camera cannot record 4K (or even 2K) internally but only via SDI ports to an external recorder – which Canon does not make. Odd, and probably a limitation of the compact body form chosen.

Frame rates are variable from one to 120 frames per second (for slo-mo effects) and the camera records HD internally to CF cards at 50 Mbps with 4:2:2 color sampling.

The camera comes in two varieties – the standard C500 is compatible with EF, EF-S and EF Cinema lenses for Canon SLR cameras, while the C500 PL model is compatible with PL-mount EF Cinema lenses and other PL-mount lenses. The EF mount features a rotating collar to facilitate cine-style lens changes.

Both C500 models should be available before the end of the year for around $30,000

New Lenses

The cameras might have one scratching one’s head a little but there is no doubting Canon’s serious commitment to cinema optics. Since all the new Canon Cine EOS lenses are available in both EF and PL fitting, they are not dependent on the cameras for their success. Coming early next year are a wide-angle 14 mm T3.1 and telephoto 135 mm T2.2 prime lenses. These will join the existing 24 mm, 50 mm and 85 mm fixed primes, all of which are suitable even for full-frame cameras like the EOS 1D and 5D.

Two new compact zooms have also been announced; the CN-E15.5 - 47 mm T2.8 L S/SP wide-angle cinema zoom lens and the CN-E30 - 105 mm T2.8 L S/SP telephoto cinema zoom, which are designed suit the single-operator potential of the C100 and C300. These lenses will only cover up to APS-C sized sensors.

Available in January 2013 and November 2012 respectively, these lenses will cost about $24,500 each; which might shock some but is about par for the course. My first article for Gizmag was about the differences between still and cine lenses and why the latter cost so much!

New camo face paint protects soldiers against bomb blasts

For millennia, face paint has helped soldiers avoid being seen by enemy forces. This Wednesday, however, a team of scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi announced that a new type of face paint may soon also be able to protect against the heat of bomb blasts and other explosions. Additionally, a clear version of the paint could be used by civilian firefighters.

The team created the material at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense, which was looking for an unobtrusive way of protecting soldiers’ exposed skin from the thermal blasts created by weapons such as roadside bombs.

It was definitely a challenge, as the scientists weren’t able to use traditional hydrocarbon-based makeup ingredients, as they are flammable when exposed to intense heat. Instead, they used silicones, as the wavelengths at which they absorb radiation are outside of the intense heat spectrum.

Making things more difficult was the fact that the paint did have to include DEET, the flammable insect repellant – the U.S. military stipulates that all camouflage makeup it uses must be composed of at least 35 percent DEET. In this case, the researchers got around the problem by encapsulating the DEET within a hydrogel, to keep it from igniting.

When tested in a lab setting, a layer of the paint that was thinner than a sheet of paper was found to be very effective. It was able to reflect intense heat, similar to that created by a bomb blast, for up to 15 seconds. At that point, its temperature rose to a point at which its wearer might experience first-degree burns. As a point of reference, thermal blasts from explosives typically only last for about two seconds.

In some situations, the paint was even found to provide protection for up to 60 seconds. This could allow soldiers time to move away from fires, or let firefighters work with greater safety.

Along with its heat-reflecting and insect-repelling qualities, the paint can also be made in colors for day and night use, it’s non-irritating, easy to apply and remove, and waterproof. The team are now looking into its application on items such as clothing and tents.

Smartphone app determines location, speed and direction of distant objects

Researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a prototype app that combines a smartphone’s GPS, compass and imaging capabilities to calculate the exact location of distant objects and track their speed and direction. The researchers say the PositionIt app could allow a single off-the-shelf device to replace various pieces of equipment carried by soldiers on the battlefield, or be used closer to home to judge the distance to the green when playing golf.

“The great advantage of a smartphone is that it provides so many tools in a single, readily available, relatively inexpensive package,” said Qia Wang, a doctoral student in MU’s College of Engineering who led the research team. By combining these onboard capabilities, the software Wang and his team have developed can calculate the exact location of distant objects, both when the size of the object is known and when it isn’t.

When the size of the target is known, the software can determine the distance to the target by using a single image captured on the smartphone’s camera and comparing its relative size in the image to the target’s known actual size. The software then combines this distance information with the smartphone’s GPS location and compass reading to calculate the target’s longitude and latitude.

When the size of the target is not known, an additional image needs to be captured so the software can use the two images to triangulate the location of the target. Additionally, the software can also track the direction and calculate the speed of a moving target from a short video captured on the smartphone.

The research team has developed a prototype version of the targeting and tracking software, which is currently undergoing testing. They hope this will provide data that will enable them to improve the speed and accuracy of the software. Advances in smartphone hardware are also expected to improve the performance of the software.

“Currently, our software is limited by the physical abilities of smartphone hardware, but the devices are improving rapidly,” Wang said. “We anticipate that improvements in GPS accuracy, battery life and camera resolution will allow our software to make even more accurate observations. We also are making our software more user-friendly.”

As well as potentially providing soldiers with the capability to precisely locate targets before calling in an air strike without the need for various instruments, such as a rangefinder, GPS, and compass, the researchers say the PositionIt system could be used by golfers to calculate the distance to the green, or by parents to clock a speeding car near a school while catching the offending vehicle on video.

Intel developing chipsets to allow laptops to wirelessly charge mobile devices

Wireless charging technology is quickly gaining attention from many mobile device manufacturers, and with good reason. Eliminating the need for a charging cable would offer a huge convenience across the board, and some of the products on the market like LG’s WPD-800 and the Powermat have already drawn quite a bit of attention. Now Intel has stepped up to announce plans for a new technology that will not only allow one mobile device to be charged by another with a built-in charger (such as a laptop), but also won't require the two devices even be touching to do so. Along with Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT), Intel hopes to develop a chipset by early 2013 that will charge a smartphone through a laptop that sits a short distance away.

Intel has been tinkering around with the concept of laptop-to-phone wireless charging since 2008, but teaming up with IDT is a big step towards bringing that technology to consumers. Both companies have stressed the importance of reducing the size and cost of wireless charging as much as possible so it can be easily integrated into consumer products. IDT already has some experience in this department, having developed a single-chip wireless transmitter and receiver in the past.

One thing that separates this planned system from most other wireless charging systems out there is the way the energy is transferred between two points. Most wireless chargers available now transmit power through induction (i.e. physical contact between the device and charger), while the planned chipset will transmit power through resonance inductive coupling. It is so named because it involves transmitting electrical energy between two coils that are tuned to resonate at the same frequency.

Because the receiving coil can pick most of the energy even from distance away, the two devices can sit an inch or so apart without breaking the connection. Intel certainly isn't the first company to produce such technology, but it could be among the earliest to incorporate it into a home consumer device. With more development though, it's becoming more and more conceivable that future versions of the technology could allow for power-sharing between almost any electronic device over a much wider distance.

Intel has stated that it will begin referencing IDT's chipset in product designs as soon as it is completed in early 2013. The company is also working with other manufacturers on integrating the technology with other devices, like printers, cameras, and smartphone cases. So far, the company has not announced any specific consumer-ready gadgets that will use the new wireless charging technology, but has mentioned that the chipset will be aimed towards Ultrabooks, all-in-one PCs, smartphones, and standalone chargers.

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Slowdown? IT companies may hire more from IITs

A muted economy notwithstanding, the first flush of pre-placement offers (PPOs) at six oldest IITssuggests that companies might be hiring more this year. Marquee employers such as Microsoft,Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Goldman Sachs, Adobe and Schlumberger have rolled out over 170 PPOs to the class of 2013, with strong indications that the final tally at these six IITs may beat last year's records. Officials from the six IITs ET spoke to said about 260 students from their institutes received PPOs last year. 

Pre-placement offers usually start trickling in from July-August and can go on till October-November for top engineering colleges. The final placement starts after that, from December, and may go on till June the following year. 

IIT-Kharagpur, the oldest among the IITs, has around 50 offers in hand compared to the 60 last year. Companies such as Schlumberger Asia, Microsoft, Transocean, Tata Steel, Qualcomm, Ittiam Systems, HUL, Goldman Sachs, Cisco, Texas Instruments and RIL have made their pick from 800 students of IIT-Kharagpur, said SK Barai, professor-in-charge (training & placements) at the institute. It expects a 10% increase in PPOs this year. 

"Firms are pre-empting an improvement in the markets, and for that, they need to have resources ready," said an IIT placement professor, who did not wish to be identified. "They are hiring from IITs so they do not miss out on the talent pool." 

Officials in IIT-Roorkee's placement cell say the slump is not apparent, having crossed last year's tally of 33 PPOs. 

Increase in salaries on offer
IIT-Roorkee has received 34 PPOs till now and more will come in till November. There has been some increase in the salaries being offered by companies as opposed to last year, officials from the placement department said. Shell, Texas Instruments, Deloitte, Schlumberger and Goldman Sachs have made offers at this IIT. 

IIT-Bombay has received 25 PPOs and more are expected over the next 2-3 months. The institute bagged 50-plus offers last year. 

"We are receiving a good response from potential recruiters, but it's too early to say the situation is better than last year," said a cautious Avijit Chatterjee, professor-in-charge of placements for IIT-Bombay. PPOs are made to final-year students from undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the IITs from streams such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and applied materials. 

Companies such as Shell, Reliance Industries and Microsoft have made multiple offers to students of IIT-Madras. The institute's 525 students have received 18 PPOs, which include offers from Credit Suisse, Mahindra &Mahindra and Adobe. "We expect the numbers to be the same as last year," said an official from the placement department of IIT-Madras. 

Salary levels have not been muted and anywhere between Rs 8-18 lakh is being offered to those who made a mark during their internships. PPOs are given to students based on their performance during internships and once accepted, a student is generally out of the placement procedure. There may be some exceptions though. 

While the PPO phenomenon is far more common at the IIMs, it's now making its presence at the IITs. 

IIT-Guwahati's placement-in-charge Natesan Srinivasan says companies have become more aggressive in recruiting top talent from colleges they visit. From July onwards, the institute has received 20 PPOs and last year's record of 30 such offers is within touching distance. Companies that have offered jobs are S&P Capital IQ, Tata Steel, Schlumberger, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and M&M.