RESEARCH ON PROJECTING IMAGES INTO EYE FROM CONTACT LENS

We might soon get to see contact lenses with built-in virtual graphics, as researchers are working on the idea of projecting images into the eye from a contact lens.

Scientists at the University of Washington are labouring on a contact lens that is a prototype of a device that could display information beamed from a mobile device. The proposal was the brainchild of Babak Parviz, at the University of Washington, in Seattle. "Our hope is to create images that effectively float in front of the user perhaps 50 cm to one meter away," News Scientist quoted Parviz as saying.

The expert further said that future versions would be able to gather power from a user's cell phone without obscuring the wearer's view. Mark Billinghurst, Director of the Human Interface Technology Laboratory, in Christchurch, New Zealand added, "A contact lens that allows virtual graphics to be seamlessly overlaid on the real world could provide a compelling augmented reality experience." The team is due to present their prototype at the Biomedical Circuits and Systems (BioCas 2009) conference at Beijing.

INTEL'S MOBILE v2.1 OS

Intel has unveiled its Moblin 2.1 operating system, which is suitable for phones, MIDs, and netbooks. Short for "Mobile Linux," Moblin has mostly warmed the bench, but Intel is prepared to let the latest build see some action. 

Moblin 2.1, which is based on Linux, has an iPhone-style software development kit for developers that will allow them to build applications that can work on devices with screens as small as smartphones through to notebooks with larger displays. (It will be up to developers to decide whether they want to build "one size fits all" apps or apps that are targeted at specific screen sizes, though.)

Intel also revealed that Moblin 2.1 includes support for Flash and Silverlight, so interactive web applications can run inside web pages on all Moblin 2.1 devices, unlike the iPhone, which only displays standard web pages. 

Microsoft says Moblin's capability to display Silverlight will be a way for developers to build apps that work on both Windows and Moblin. "Using Silverlight's cross-device, cross-browser, cross-platform technology, developers will be able to write applications once and have them run on Windows and Moblin devices – expanding the reach of Silverlight applications to more consumers, regardless of whether the device they're using is a PC, TV or phone," said Ian Ellison Taylor, general manager, Microsoft Client Platforms and Tools. 

Intel demonstrated the new Moblin interface to media and attendees of its Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

SEVERAL USB 3.0-ENABLED GADGET TO BE SHOWN AT IDF,SANFRANCISCO

The Intel Developer Forum (IDF) is coming to San Francisco next week, and there are reports that several USB 3.0- equiped gadgets  will make an appearance. On display will be a Fujitsu laptop, the first of its kind, it uses NEC's host controller and will be demonstrated with a "SuperSpeed USB drive" from Buffalo Technology.

Point Grey Research will have a high-performance digital video camera present, which packs a three-megapixel Sony "IMX036" CMOS image sensor. The device is capable of outputting 1080p HD images at 60 frames per second and it will be displayed streaming uncompressed HD video to a notebook via a Fresco Logic USB 3.0 ExpressCard.

It wouldn't be much of a USB 3.0 party without a desktop motherboard on exhibit, and Asus will be showcasing an early SuperSpeed USB mainboard sample. The board on show will be Intel X58-based, appropriately outfitted with NEC's chip, and will swap data with a LucidPort USB 3.0 device. I imagine it will bear similarities to Asus' cancelled P6X58.

There are plenty of big names behind the new USB spec, including Intel, HP, Microsoft, NEC, ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments. With a backing like that, the first consumer-grade USB 3.0 devices are anticipated to arrive by early next year.

GOOGLE FOR DOODLE EVENT WINNERS

Doodle 4 Google is a competition where we invite K-12 students to reinvent Google's homepage logo. Both our country and our world are undergoing significant change and this year we invited students to doodle around the theme "What I Wish for the World". At Google we believe in thinking big, and dreaming big, and we can't think of anything more important than encouraging students to do the same.

National Winner - 2009

A New Beginning

My doodle, "A new beginning," expresses my wish that in the current crisis discoveries will be made. That in these discoveries solutions will be found to help the Earth prosper once more. That those solutions will help the world get back on its feet, and create a better place for everyone.

Christin Engelberth
Bernard A. Harris Jr High School
San Antonio, TX

Prizes

The National Winner will win a $15,000 college scholarship to be used at the school of their choice, a trip to the Google New York Office, a laptop computer, and a t-shirt printed with their doodle. We'll also award the winner's school a $25,000 technology grant towards the establishment/improvement of a computer lab.

• Each of the other 3 National Finalists will win a trip to the Google New York Office, a laptop computer, and a t-shirt printed with their doodle.
• Each of the other 36 Regional Winners will win a trip to the Google New York Office and a t-shirt printed with their doodle.
• Each of the other 360 State Finalists will receive a "Doodle 4 Google" official winner's certificate.

This year we've added a new District Quality Participation Prize in the amount of $10,000 to the school district that most encourages high-quality participation from its schools. The District Quality Participation Prize will also be a grant that goes towards the establishment/improvement of a computer lab.

As part of our judging process, every doodle submitted by each school (maximum six per school) will be given an overall quality score. Doodles that make it on to the semi-finalist, finalist or national winner rounds will be given additional points. We'll then add up the total points accumulated for each school district. The district that has the highest point total at the end of the contest will receive the technology grant.

Original Doodler

Google doodles, the drawings that are designed on, around and through the Google logo on our home page, have long been part of Google's history. As a Google intern in 2000, Google Webmaster Dennis Hwang began celebrating and marking worldwide events and holidays with doodles. Since then, the work of the doodle team has been seen by millions and reached cult status, with fans waiting with bated breath to see the next creation on the Google homepage. We spoke to Dennis about doodles and how he got a job that combined his two passions: technology and art.

AND THIS IS MY OWN RECREATED DOODLE FOR GOOGLE:

Thsis is with all my favourities corporate logos, font and my favourite Doodle..

Post ur comments on this...

DOODLE 4 GOOGLE CONTEST

You know the Google Doodle right? We are talking about the artistic, funny graffiti you see on the Google Logo on its homepage on special occasions, dates or even birthdays of famous personalities. Ever wondered what goes behind the scenes and who designs those in the first place? Well, that's not what we're here for to discuss right now.

What we were here was to report a recent Google announcement regarding its Google Doodle contest for Indian school children. So, if you are currently a student in any school in India (between standards 1st and 10th), you are eligible to have your work of art displayed on the Google Homepage on Children's Day. (You know when that occurs, we believe!). All you need to do is to win this contest! The theme of this competition is 'My India' and for your work to feature on the Google Homepage, all you need to do is to create a Google Doodle, with an India-specific theme in mind and impress the judges. As the theme says, you should create a doodle that represents India. You have many ideas to work on, ranging from India's culture to its advances in terms of science and technology.

If you are currently a student in any school in India (between the 1^st and 10^th standards), then this is your chance to have your doodle be displayed on the Google India homepage. The theme of this competition is 'My India'. We'd love to see what your country means to you when represented in a doodle. Whether it’s music or dance, famous Indian art, Mahatma Gandhi, the Taj Mahal, cricket, our scientific achievements or the Indian people as a community- we’re interested in seeing these representations of what India means to you and how you represent it using images.

Your friends over at Google are interested in seeing these representations of what India means to you and how you represent it using images. Since this happens to be a contest, there will be one winner whose work, apart from being featured on the Google Homepage, will also receive a brand new laptop and a help your school avail a technology grant of Rs. 1 lakh!

To apply, students can register online at www.google.co.in/doodle4google

FREE WINDOWS 7 AT MICROSOFT FREE NEW EVENT THE NEW EFFICIENCY

It is my opinion that there has been more controversy over Windows 7's pricing than any other aspect of its coming launch - especially with Apple to offer Snow Leopard upgrades for $29.
If you act quickly, though, you have an opportunity to snag a copy of Microsoft's upcoming operating system free of charge.

The company is hosting The New Efficiency launch events across 25 US cities between September 28 and November 9 of this year for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Exchange 2010. Attendees will receive a free copy of Windows 7 Professional. Granted, that doesn't consider travel costs but registration and entry to the event is absolutely free.

• See how Windows 7 can help you reduce management costs and raise productivity as part of the Windows Optimized Desktop.
• Manage Risks through enhanced security and control.
• See new deployment tools with enhanced data protection, better control, automation and advanced image management.
• Dynamically provision and manage virtual workloads with Live Migration and System Center
• Reduce energy costs with improved power management and policies for servers and clients
• Improve productivity and lower costs for branch office and remote workers together with Windows 7Simplify administration and deployment of your messaging platform
• Lower IT costs with new archiving capabilities that combine advanced multi-mailbox search, granular retention polices, and more
• Extend access to your messaging platform with mobility, voicemail, and the Internet

Grab the show at:

http://www.microsoft.com/business/thenewefficiency/

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TOP ANTIVIRUS IN WORLD PASSED AND RANKED

LIST OF ANTIVIRUS PASSED VIRUS BULLETIN AUGUST 2009 TEST ARE LISTED BELOW:

1. Avira AntiVir Professional,
2. AhnLab V3 Internet Security,
3. Alwil avast! Professional,
4. AVG Internet Security,
5. CA eTrust ITM,
6. eEye Blink Professional,
7. ESET NOD32 Antivirus,
8. Fortinet FortiClient,
9. Frisk F-PROT antivirus,
10. F-Secure Client Security,
11. F-Secure PSB Workstation Security,
12. G DATA AntiVirus 2010,
13. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009,
14. Kingsoft Internet Security 2009 Advanced,
15. McAfee Total Security,
16. McAfee VirusScan Enterprise,
17. Microsoft Forefront Client Security,
18. MWTI eScan Internet Security Suite,
19. Nifty Corp. Security24,
20. Norman Security Suite,
21. Quick Heal AntiVirus Lite 2009,
22. Sophos Anti-Virus,and
23. Trustport Antivirus 2009.

Virus Bulletin (VB) conducted its latest test in July, posting the results this month. The security research company evaluated 35 anti-malware products for the 32-bit version of Windows Vista SP2 Business. The basic requirements for a product passing the test is detecting, both on demand and on access, in its default settings, all malware known to be "In the Wild" at the time of the review, and not detecting any false positives when scanning a set of clean files. The products were pitted against about 3,000 unique samples of malware that fall into four categories: WildList viruses, Worms and bots, Polymorphic viruses, and Trojans.

A third of the products did not manage to meet these requirements: 23 products passed the test, leaving 12 products to fail.

SYMANTEC AND 11 OTHER FAILS VIRUS BULLETINTEST AUGUST 2009

Virus Bulletin (VB) conducted its latest test in July, posting the results this month. The security research company evaluated 35 anti-malware products for the 32-bit version of Windows Vista SP2 Business. The basic requirements for a product passing the test is detecting, both on demand and on access, in its default settings, all malware known to be "In the Wild" at the time of the review, and not detecting any false positives when scanning a set of clean files. The products were pitted against about 3,000 unique samples of malware that fall into four categories: WildList viruses, Worms and bots, Polymorphic viruses, and Trojans.

A third of the products did not manage to meet these requirements: 23 products passed the test, leaving 12 products to fail. Here are the ones that failed, as well as the reason for not passing:

FAILED ANTIVIRUS LIST:

1. Agnitum Outpost Security Suite Pro (one false positive),
2. CA Internet Security Suite (960 polymorphic viruses misses),
   
3. Filseclab Twister AntiTrojanVirus (2612 wildlist misses, 38 false positives),
4. Finport Simple Anti-Virus (2897 wildlist misses, two false positives),
   
5. K7 Total Security Desktop (one false positive),
   
6. Kingsoft Internet Security 2009 Standard (228 wildlist misses),
   
7. PC Tools AntiVirus 2009 (1188 wildlist misses, one false positive),
8. PC Tools Internet Security 2009 (1355 wildlist misses, one false positive),
9. PC Tools Spyware Doctor (1355 wildlist misses, one false positive),
10. Rising Internet Security 2009 (43 wildlist misses, one false positive),
    
11. Symantec Endpoint Protection (two wildlist misses), and
12. VirusBuster Professional (one false positive).

An interesting thing to note in this test is Kingsoft's results: the Standard version failed the test while the Advanced version of the company's product passed. PC Tools, on the other hand, saw all three of its products bomb. Symantec's failure is particularly unacceptable as the security giant is often talked up as the top dog in the market. Microsoft's success with its Forefront product is promising not only for business users, but for consumers as well, given that the upcoming Microsoft Security Essentials product is closely tied to it.

The next VB test results will be posted two months from now and will be for Windows Server 2008, though actual testing will be conducted in September.

Update:

"In the past ten years, Symantec has earned 44 consecutive VB100 awards, something no other vendor has come close to matching," a Symantec spokesperson told Ars. "In the August edition of Virus Bulletin, Symantec did not receive the VB100 award certification due to missing an extremely rare replicant of a highly polymorphic file infecting virus in the VB lab test. We have received no reports related to this issue from any customers. This has been fixed in our signatures for all customers."

APPLE WINS LAPTOP MAGAZINES TECH SUPPORT SHOWDOWN 2009 AGAIN

TECH SUPPORT SHOWDOWN 2009 by Laptop Magazine rates 10 computer companies' tech support. Among those APPLE comes out as the WINNER again.Apple's overall grade for 2009 was an "A," scoring an "A" for both phone and Web support.

"Apple has consistently offered some of the best Web and phone support of any computer vendor, and this year was no different," the magazine said in evaluating Apple. "Its Web site is brimming with well-ordered FAQs, query-based search, and PDF manuals, the latter of which quickly answered our external monitor question."

Apple's support performance over the last few years, coupled with the popularity of the iPhone and iPod, have propelled Apple's Mac sales. In its 2009 fiscal third quarter, Apple reported selling 2.6 million Macs, up 4 percent from the year ago quarter.

Comparing it to the other companies involved in the showdown,

1. Acer received a C-
2. ASUS (B-)
3. Dell (C-)
4. Fujitsu (B-)
5. Gateway (B-)
6. HP (C-)
7. Lenovo (B+)
8. Sony (B+)
9. Toshiba (B).

Apple also received "A" ratings in 2007 and 2008 from the magazine for its tech support.

MICROSOFT IMAGINE CUP 2010, POLAND

Imagine Cup is an annual competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft Corp.which brings together young technologist worldwide to help resolve some of the world's toughest challenges. Primarily a software design competition, it enlists teams of four within the highschool and collegiate levels to submit software solutions addressing a specifically provided theme. Started in 2002, it has steadily grown in size, where in 2008 210,000 competitors representing over 100 countries competed in the nine Imagine Cup invitationals.

HISTORY:

• 2003:Barcelona, Spain - Theme: Link between people, information, systems, and devices, using Web services and .NET as the springboard.
• 2004:Sao Paulo,Brazil - Theme: Imagine a world where smart technology makes everyday life easier.
• 2005:Yokohama, Japan - Theme: Imagine a world where technology dissolves the boundaries between us.
• 2006:Delhi,India - Theme: Imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives.
• 2007:Seol, South Korea - Theme: Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all.
• 2008:Paris,France - Theme: Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment.
• 2009:Cario,Eqypt - Theme: Imagine a world where technology helps solve the world's toughest problems.
• 2010:Warsaw,Poland - Theme: Imagine a world where technology helps solve the world's toughest problems.

Winners:

• 2004:France, Team EPITA - Aymeric Gaurat Apelli, Franois Beaussier, Guillaume Belmas and Vincent Vergonjeanne
• 2005:Russia, Team OmniMusic - Stanislav Vonog, Nikolay Surin, Alexander Popov and Ruslan Gilfanov
• 2006:Italy, Team Even - Giorgio Sardo, Massimo Paternoster, Silvia Perrone and Andrea SossichEven .ctor
• 2007:Thailand, Team 3KC - Prachaya Phaisanwiphatpong, Vasan Chienmaneetaweesin, Jatupon Sukkasem, Pathompol Saeng-Uraiporn
• 2008:Australia, Team SOAK - David Burela, Edward Hooper, Dimaz Pramudnya and Long Zheng
• 2009:Romania, Team Sytech - Adrian Buzgar, Calin Juravle and Andreas Resios

Imagine Cup Categories:

• Technology Solutions
• Skills Challenges
• Digital Arts

Critics:

The Microsoft Corporation has been criticized for including provisions in the competition's legal documents, stating that by accepting their prizes, winners agree to allow Microsoft to use concepts, techniques, ideas or solutions from the winning applications "for any purpose." Also, the competition has been criticized for being rather Microsoft-centric, with demands such as "the entry must be designed on .NET Framework 2.0 using Microsoft Visual Studio" or "30% of the scoring in this round will be based on use of showcasing the .NET framework".

To register click here: http://imaginecup.com/default.aspx