Samsung Galaxy S5 which was launched last year was not much favorite among people. But, now these new devices Galaxy S6 and galaxy S6 Edge will become more popular than last phone. Soon in the 2nd week of April, the smartphone will be in your hands.
In our last post, we talk about Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge: Specs & Features and Galaxy S6 Rumors. But, now we are going to share top 7 features/ advantages of these new smartphones.
7 Top Features of Galaxy S6
#1. Metal is phone’s closest companion
Samsung’s undoubted association with plastic has been decently reported. They’ve attempted their hands with metal (mostly) on the Alpha, A and E arrangement as of late however Galaxy S6 ought to be in a class of its own. Contending with the Apple and HTC’s of the world will be just conceivable, if Samsung trench plastic and acknowledges the need to incline toward metal from here on. Luckily, it appears requests to God have been heard and late board break show that Galaxy S6 will come wrapped in metal completing.
#2. Screen with an Edge
At the point when Samsung took off Note Edge variation, they were principally trying out waters with an exceptional structure consider before discharging item the Galaxy S arrangement of same kind. The item as a rule, has been generally welcomed yet for its development, the usefulness component stays advanced. Thus, until then anticipate that Galaxy S6 will pack a 2K presentation with Super AMOLED quality for surreal survey. Notwithstanding that Galaxy S6 Edge is exceedingly anticipated that would be declared.
#3. They both have awesome tech inside
Beside their clearly distinctive screens, the two kin have the same details. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge utilize Samsung’s new octa-center Exynos 7 processor. Both have super AMOLED screens and 3GB of RAM. Samsung has jettisoned microSD card spaces and rather offers the phones with altered limits of 32GB, 64GB or 128GB. Remote charging and speedier USB charging are incredible worth includes. Toss in an enhanced finger impression scanner and you have basically all that you’d need from an advanced smartphone.
#4. No additionally disturbing Android
While Galaxy Alpha is a special case, most Galaxy items have persevered through dissatisfaction on the product front, generally because of TouchWiz interface. The most recent cycle of their custom stage is relied upon to wind up smooth and less-bloatware pressed. Android 5.0 Lollipop has the nonessential speak to turn into the widely adored, just if Samsung can simply keep things basic this time with Galaxy S6’s product.
#5. Another, lighter UI
Samsung says the Galaxy S6 has altogether smaller features than the S5 does, which for some other organization would be an unusual thing to be flaunting. Be that as it may if Samsung truly has figured out how to rein in its propensities to toss each conceivable peculiarity in, purchasers will be in an ideal situation.
#6. Samsung continues enhancing its cams
Both phones have 16-megapixel cams with optical picture adjustment. Another alternate way, twofold touching the unique mark sensor, opens the cam application regardless of what you’re doing, which makes it simple to get spontaneous shots. White equalization is enhanced because of the infrared capacities of the heart rate sensor on the back. HDR data is caught with all photographs as a matter of course, and nonstop self-adjust lets moving subjects stay sharp in features. Low light execution, which was at that point great, is guaranteed to be essentially better.
#7. Value no bar?
With all the previously stated gimmicks stuffed, Samsung could value the Galaxy S6 upwards of Rs 55,000 opened and its prosperity depends on how well the phone is bundled.
American President Barack Obama’s emails were accessed by Russian hackers last October in a White House security breach, according to the NYT report. The emails that were read during this computer system breach were of unclassified nature. Earlier this month, officials admitted that White House security system was hacked by Russian hackers.
According to the officers involved in the investigation, the servers handling President’s Backberry were not breached, instead, the emails were retrieved from the email archives of his contacts.
Many senior officials in White House have two computer systems in their offices for unclassified communication and are connected to the outside world.
Even though the officials said that the information accessed was unclassified, this could have involved sensitive information related to Obama’s schedules, memos or some strategic discussions.
The number of emails accessed wasn’t disclosed and nothing was told about the sensitivity and content. The very own email account of President doesn’t appear as hacked.
This should be noted that these hacking incidents are taking place at the moment of tension between Russia and United States due to the Cremia issue. The Chinese hacking groups are busy stealing commercial and design info, the Russian hackers are targeting the political matters.
Back during the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama was targeted by Chinese hackers. In another old news, the Pentagon’s unclassified military network was hacked.
This recent hack also lead to the partial shutdown of White House email system and till the end of October, the Russian hackers were swept away.
This ultimate ice buggy is under development by Venturi Automobiles, the Monaco-based maker of electric cars. Its purpose: To allow scientists to more safely reach core-sample drilling locations on the Antarctic ice shelf – and do so in areas where combustion engines are banned, says Franck Baldet, head of the Venturi testing department.
It’s not easy to develop an electric-powered transporter that can work reliably in temperatures as low as -70°C (-94°F).
“Currently there is no other way [to reach drilling sites] except to walk or ski, which is dangerous and takes a lot of time,” Baldet explains.
Dog sleds have been banned on Antarctica since 1993, a move spurred by fears that the nonindigenous animals would spread diseases such as canine distemper to the native seal population.
Venturi was tapped to develop this electric snowcat after Prince Albert II, the reigning monarch of Monaco and a noted environmental advocate, returned from a trip to Antarctica in 2009. “Scientists from the French Polar Institute told him they needed a vehicle that could reach sites without creating pollution that could alter drilling samples,” Baldet says.
Funded by Prince Albert’s private foundation, which supports environmental and sustainability issues, this unusual EV meets four goals set by institute officials: emission-free propulsion, easy operation, a range of at least 20km (12.4m) and five-passenger capability. So far, so good, according to a recent prototype test drive in the Alps in southern France, with Prince Albert at the helm. The Antarctica easily (and quietly) manoeuvred on slopes as steep as 45 degrees and handled temps down to -20°C (-4°F). “It worked perfectly – incredibly easy to drive,” Baldet says. The vehicle’s top speed is a breezy 15mph.
It’s not easy to develop an electric-powered transporter that can work reliably in temperatures as low as -70°C (-94°F), Baldet notes. “It’s difficult for a battery to generate current at those temperatures, plus it’s more vulnerable to damage,” he says.
To deal with the extreme temperatures, designers snuggled the 23kWh lithium-ion battery inside a heated compartment that remains a toasty 0°C (32°F) – even when outside temps reach -40°C/F. The battery powers two mid-mounted electric motors producing a combined 89 horsepower; each motor drives four of the vehicle’s eight wheels, which usually are covered with removable caterpillar treads. Regenerative-braking technology pushes juice to the battery pack between charges, Baldet says.
To keep the vehicle as light as possible (the two-seat prototype weighs about two tons), Venturi designers may end up building the shell with extremely strong but lightweight materials used to make space satellites. “We want to optimize all systems so the vehicle consumes as little energy as possible, which leaves more energy to power the vehicle and provides more range,” Baldet says.
(Credit: Venturi Automobiles)
The Antarctica is controlled via a joystick – no steering wheel or throttle/brake pedals. “It’s very easy to drive – like a video game, more or less,” he says. “It’s a drive-by-wire system. There are no mechanical links between the control and the motors.”
To move forward, just push the joystick away from the driver. To brake, pull back on the stick. To turn left, move the joystick left; to turn right, move it right. It’s that simple, Baldet says.
It will be at least two more years before Venturi can deliver a fully realised version of the Antarctica to South Pole researchers. The cost? Baldet declined to provide an estimate, but did note that because of its advanced technology and exotic materials, the machine likely would be far too expensive to sell commercially.
“It will probably be the only vehicle of its kind on Earth,” he points out. “Unless the institute ask for two, then there will be two. And if they ask for three, there will be three. It will be very exclusive.”
If I were looking for a pair of headphones to use in my workout, I'd want the Relays by Sol Republic. They are hands down the most comfortable headphones to wear while being active. They sound good, stay put without chafing or tugging, are light and resistant to sweat, and come with a lifetime of free tips (because you know those lil' buggers love to get lost in a gym bag).
I came to this conclusion after extensively testing 38 models. Our tests involved a professional listening panel, three stress tests, and real workout tests. After all that, I'm confident the Sol Republic are the best fit for your fitness routine.
Who's this for/should I upgrade?
One of the tables full of sport headphones awaiting testing.
Exercise headphones are for people who want to run, hike, bike, or hit the gym while listening to music, podcasts, or other media. That means they should be able to withstand a variety of stressors like sweat, rain, strain from dropping media players, and abuse from being thrown in a bag. The headphones should also sound decent, feel good, stay put, and stay out of the way while you're being active.
Our pick
The Relays by Sol Republic won because they were, hands down, the most comfortable headphones to wear while being active. What really solidified our choice was the run test. Where other headphones had cable noise, the Relays were quiet. Where other headphones tugged and chafed our ears, the Relays were comfy and so light that one could easily forget they were being worn. Where other headphones took a while to get into the correct position, the Relays popped immediately into place. And after our punishing drop, crumple, and moisture tests, the Sol were still in perfect shape. You can trust that they are up to the abuse that fitness headphones face on the daily.
Also they sounded great to our listening panel of audio experts; and although there were other headphones that we liked the sound of better, not a single panelist disliked listening to the Relays.
Plus, the Relays come with a fit-in-your-pocket small carrying case, have a 1-year warranty, and if you register your Relays on Sol Republic's website after purchase, Sol will send you free replacement tips whenever you ask. No more freaking out if one of your ear tips disappears in an errant roll across the gym floor. How handy is that?
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The Relays are not the best-sounding headphones in their price range and type. If you want the utmost best sound that $100 can buy, read our piece here on non-exercise headphones. But those headphones won't take the brutal punishment that we dished out.
Wireless exercise headphones (for a price)
The Jaybirds are light and stay put while running, but you'll have to get used to charge them after about 8 hours of use.
Why wireless headphones? Two words: no cord. But you knew that. What surprised me when I first started running with Bluetooth headphones was the way it affected my posture and stride. I never realized that I actually carried my head stiff and straight to avoid snagging the cord on my shirt or arm and popping the buds right out of my ears.
If you don't mind charging your headphones once or twice a week or spending $140 on headphones in exchange for cutting the cord (you get about 8 hours of use per charge), you can't do better than the Jaybird Bluebud X.
They have fantastic bass, are light, stay put without chafing, and have a lifetime sweatproof warranty. I've personally recommended these to several people who have all have reported back that they are extremely happy. We like these a tiny bit better than the Relays in terms of sound balance, but the need to charge, the extra cost, and the tricky setup meant they were just barely edged out as our top pick. Still, you can buy these with confidence.
Open-ear and budget exercise headphones
The Koss Fitclips don't sound as great as the Relays, but they'll do fine if you're on a budget.
The SOL and Jaybirds are our picks, but if you want to spend a lot less, the Koss Fitclips go over your ears and cost about $16. They don't sound anywhere as good as our main picks, but they're also much, much less money. If you want to spend a little more and get a microphone for taking phone calls on your runs, the $42 Skullcandy Chops are our pick. Although you should be able to hear outside noise fine using these choices, for those who need a heightened sense of awareness of the outside world while they run, bike, or exercise, the inexpensive $20 Panasonic RP-HS34 headphones are our favorite budget-friendly unsealed set.
How did we test?
I started out by researching professional reviews from fitness journalists as well as pro audio writers, users, bloggers, and forum members. This eventually lead us to try out about 38 models, narrowed down from the original 75 models we considered.
I burned in every model and then turned them over to our expert panel for audio testing.
After I had the top-rated choices in those categories, I took to the track and ran half a mile with each pair of headphones. Then, to check durability, I connected each headphone to a portable speaker, held the headphones from where they would connect to your ear, and dropped the speaker from a height several times to test the cord. Next, I put the headphones in their included cases or bags and shook, kicked, sat on, mashed, and smooshed the bag vigorously to simulate abuse in gym bags and workouts.
We used a spray bottle to test how sweatproof the headphones really were..
Because all of that wasn't enough, I next tested water resistance. Each headphone was sprayed with a water-filled utility misting bottle, and then plugged in to see how they worked when sweated on. Yes, I endured 10 wet-willies for you.
In closing
After testing all those headphones in all the different ways that exercise headphones should be tested, it's pretty clear to me that the Relays by Sol Republic are the best headphones for most people. And for those who want wireless, open-ear, or budget picks, we have those recommendations covered as well.
We are going to have personal air vehicles that are both cars and planes, at least that’s Missy Cummings’s vision of the future. It’s basically the intersection of a drone with a robotic car, so that your plane is also your car, but the big leap in technology is that you are actually driving neither, says the Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Drones have a negative bias in the media, says Cummings, because they are essentially seen as spy cameras. But most people don’t realise that when they are on a plane they are effectively travelling on a drone. The fly-by-wire technology that exists on all Airbus and many Boeing craft is the exact same technology that exists on drones.
The reason why drones are the answer to the future is that the truth is we are terrible drivers. Humans inherently have a half-second lag in almost any quick response that they need to have, like a ball rolling out in a street or seeing an aircraft in the sky and you have to take evasive action. Even a half-second delay can mean the difference between life and death, and computers and automated systems don’t have that – they have microseconds.
So, our transportation network of the future, both on the ground and in the air, will actually be safer when we turn it over to computers.
There really aren’t any technological hurdles to this idea, says Cummings. The biggest hurdles we have are psychological and cultural, in terms of giving up the car. But no new tech needs to be developed to have your own personal flying car. What we have to do is improve production and reduce manufacturing costs, and what that means is that we need more robots. So this is almost a self-circular process, where we need robots to build robots to make them cheaper.
Should we worry about the machines rising up and taking over? No, what Cummings says she is worried about is hackers and terrorists who want to do wrong. One of the things she is working on is trying to develop technology that allows any flying robot to be able to fend off any attack and be able to navigate itself without any GPS or any other external signal.
There are lots of different possibilities for what your personal air vehicle could look like. You could own your own in your driveway or garage, and you could jump in it. Or we could have a shared network like the plane version of Zipcar. People should be excited about this: it promises much in terms of safer travel, and in parts of the world where the road and air networks are poor, people will be able to get the goods and services they need.
So, when we look at globalising this concept of personal air vehicles, it means we will see the quality of life improve dramatically for everyone around the world.
Scientists say that the advancement in material sciences, algorithms and manufacturing processes have given a major boost to the field of robotics and it has led to a revolution in the robotic materials. The way for development of prosthetics (artificial body parts) with a realistic sense of touch has been made smoother with the use of nature inspired robotic materials. Following this, now it is even possible to construct bridges that can self-repair themselves and vehicles that have camouflaging abilities just like animals and insects.
These nature inspired robotic materials are being developed by Nikolaus Correll and his team. The team looked at the organisms like cuttlefish, which alter their appearance based on their surroundings and environment, and the Banyan tree, which grows above-ground roots to support the increasing weight of its trunk. This made them wonder how to engineer such a system.
They wanted that while materials can already be programmed to change some of their properties in response to a specific stimulus, there should be such robotic materials that can sense stimuli and determine how to respond to it on their own. To develop nature inspired robotic materials, they worked on the example of artificial skin equipped with microphones which would analyze the sounds of a texture rubbing the skin and transmit information back to the central computer only when important events occurred. Correll said in a review published in a science journal that the human sensory system has the capability to automatically filter out things like the feeling of clothes rubbing on the skin. He added that an artificial skin with possibly thousands of sensors could do the same thing and it would only report to the Brain if it touches something new.
Nature inspired robotic materials
The development of all these sort of nature inspired robotic materials is now possible, but manufacturing of these materials on a large scale still remains to be a challenge. Moreover, researchers say that this field faces an education gap as developing robotic material require interdisciplinary knowledge which is currently not available through any of the material sciences, computer sciences or robotics curriculum alone.
Correll believes that in the future, the use of nature inspired robotic materials is going to be ever-widening. For him, robotic materials, in future, are going to be used in everyday life items like shoes soles that can sense pressure and then adapt their stiffness to adjust while walking or running.
Chris Wright is a problem solver. Her clients come to her with an issue, a question, a mystery, and she figures out the best way to find the answer – using whatever tools she can. “I use a combination of new technology and old technology, because I have to solve a problem. So I’ve used everything from geese and dogs to Roombas to drones to GPS.”
Wright is a private investigator – and owner of the Wright Group – based in Anaheim, California. She’s worked in the business for more than 40 years, and has seen the tools available to investigators change dramatically. Early on, stakeouts in vans were important. More recently new technology in the form of tiny cameras and social media has begun to play a role. And she’s embraced those changes. Today, when the problem calls for it, she uses drones to do her work.
She gives me a few examples. If two people are meeting in a public place, a drone can be a helpful way to discreetly watch them. “We stay at about 50-75 feet [15-23 metres] above so nothing can be heard.” Drones are also helpful for aerial surveillance of locations that are hard to access on foot. And if a school or church is worried someone might be stealing or vandalising property, drones or small off-road vehicles (“Roombas on steroids” as she calls them) can film the property.
Chris Wright relies on gamers to pilot her snooping drones (Credit: Thinkstock)
In one case, Wright was asked to figure out whether or not a soda salesperson was crossing county lines and cheating on his contract. California is one of many states in which salespeople have regional contracts – for instance, Bob sells Pepsi in Los Angeles County and Nancy sells Pepsi in Orange County. If Nancy arrives at her usual businesses to sell her Pepsi and finds the soda supply has already been topped up, there’s a good chance that someone (perhaps Bob) has crossed county lines and sold illegally.
Hi-tech toys
Wright was asked to figure out whether this was happening. To do so meant visiting every major soda wholesaler from San Luis Obispo to San Diego – about 300 miles (480km) of California coast – and checking whether any were selling soda from the wrong salesperson. When there was illegal soda on sale, she would use a drone to follow the soda delivery trucks back to their depots. In one case, the warehouse the truck led her back to was out in the desert and would have been impossible to approach by car or foot without being noticed. But the drone was able to spy on the trucks covertly. “We could see between the warehouse door and the truck loading.”
Wright gets her drones from high-end toy stores, for about $200 each. They’re an expensive investment: not only do you have to buy the device, you also have to pay one or two people to pilot and spot the thing. And if you lose one during a mission, you’re out a good chunk of your budget. But it can be worth it, because for the cases in which they’re useful, they can be very useful indeed.
(Credit: Thinkstock)
Wright doesn’t pilot the drones herself. “I try to hire gamers. I go to the colleges and high schools and I find out who the geeks are, and then I hire them.” She said that her pilots are more skilled than she would ever be – and they like the challenge. Some of them are working towards their own private investigator licences, and their hours piloting the little devices can count as hours towards their certification. (None of Wright’s gamer pilots were willing to talk for this article. “They’re introverts,” she told me. “Not shy, but introverts.”)
Understandably, the idea of using drones to spy on people isn’t something everybody is comfortable with. In a case in Seattle in 2013, a woman reported that someone was using a drone to spy on her. “This afternoon, a stranger set an aerial drone into flight over my yard and beside my house near Miller Playfield,” she told the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. “I initially mistook its noisy buzzing for a weed-whacker on this warm spring day. After several minutes, I looked out my third-story window to see a drone hovering a few feet away.” Her husband asked the drone operator, who was standing nearby, to move along – but the operator claimed to be acting within his legal rights.
Tightening regulations Whether that’s true isn’t always clear. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 35 states considered adding drone bills to the books last year, and 10 states actually did add new laws. In Iowa, for example, it’s now illegal for the state to use drones to enforce traffic laws. In North Carolina, no one can use a drone for surveillance of a person or private property. And Tennessee now specifies that it’s a misdemeanour to use drones for surveillance of people who are hunting or fishing.
Wright’s drone operations might soon become legally questionable too. Earlier this month, a California senator introduced a bill that would extend property rights into airspace, meaning that drones flying over private property would be considered trespassers. Just a few days before that, President Obama and the Federal Aviation Administration announced new drone regulations as well, requiring – among other things – that drones must be under 55lb (25kg) and that operators must keep the flying vehicles in sight at all times.
Many states in the US are already clamping down on the use of drones (Credit: Thinkstock)
Because the laws are murky, many private investigators steer clear of drones. “The use of drones for surveillance is highly restricted by law,” said Kelly Riddle, a private investigator in Texas. “There are air space regulations as well as privacy laws that can easily be violated. Obtaining video using a drone has thus far been something that we have been advised is illegal.” That’s because drones are often used to observe activities that can’t be seen via a direct line of sight at ground level. Going out of your way to spy on such activities is considered an invasion of privacy, says Riddle. A lot of Wright’s work sidesteps this privacy question, because it involves helping schools and churches monitor their own property.
In all likelihood, the use of drones will be restricted under a more comprehensive set of rules and regulations in the United States sooner than later. But in the meantime Wright will continue to use them when they can help with her work. But she also says that regardless of the legality, if someone thinks their privacy is being compromised, they’re going to do something about it. That can mean shooting down drones – another activity that may or may not be legal. “I think a lot of my colleagues have lost them and realised that it is a tool, and if you invade someone’s privacy, well, if they can hit it they will.”
A huge effort to map dark matter across the cosmos has released its first data.
Dark matter is the invisible "web" that holds galaxies together; by watching how clumps of it shift over time, scientists hope eventually to quantify dark energy - the even more mysterious force that is pushing the cosmos apart.
The map will eventually span one-eighth of the sky; this first glimpse covers just 0.4%, but in unprecedented detail.
It shows fibres of dark matter, studded with galaxies, and voids in between.
The international collaboration, known as the Dark Energy Survey (DES), will present its preliminary findings on Tuesday at a meeting of the American Physical Society and publish them on the Arxiv preprint server.
The survey involves more than 300 scientists from six countries and uses images taken by one of the best digital cameras in the world: a 570-megapixel gadget mounted on the Victor Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, high in the Chilean Andes.
Incredible detail is required to detect dark matter, based purely on the way it warps the light from very distant galaxies.
Dense areas (warm colours) tend to have coincide with high numbers of galaxies whereas voids (blue) are nearly empty
Mapping the invisible
"Our goal all this time has been to see the invisible - to see dark matter," said Sarah Bridle, an astrophysics professor at the University of Manchester and co-chair of the DES weak lensing group, which produced the map.
"To be able to look at a map and say, 'That part of the sky's got more dark matter in it, that bit's empty,' is the dream that we've had all this time," Prof Bridle told the BBC.
"It's been a long time coming."
The survey commenced more than two years ago and will run for another three. This preliminary map was made using data from the camera's very first test images.
"We were testing out the quality of the camera," Prof Bridle explained.
"It takes a very, very long time to process all of this data and do the analysis. We're currently looking at more data and eventually we're going to have a map 30 times this size."
Even this preliminary effort is something of a landmark.
"This is the largest contiguous dark matter map that's been made," Prof Bridle said.
An earlier series of four images covered a bigger swathe of sky but the images did not overlap and had nowhere near the detail of the DES.
Subtracting interference
The business of mapmaking is complicated when the stuff being mapped is invisible and millions of light years away.
To spot dark matter, astrophysicists must pick out distortions - caused by dark matter's gravitational "lensing" of passing light - within very accurate images.
The distortions are much smaller than the warping of light by our own atmosphere, and even the irregularities added by the telescope itself. So those quantities first have to be subtracted.
"Most of the hard work goes into trying to remove those effects, to be able to uncover the gravitational lensing effect underneath," Prof Bridle said.
As well as its view of the cosmos, the Blanco telescope has a panoramic outlook on the Andes
In the last two years, she and her many DES colleagues have measured the shapes of no less than two million galaxies within the first crop of images. And they've measured those dimensions to an accuracy of within 0.1%, which has required countless hours of heavy-duty computing.
Combining the imprint of all these miniscule distortions, the new map shows exactly where dark matter is concentrated within this particular patch of sky.
It paints an impressively clear picture, with no big surprises.
"Our analysis so far is in line with what the current picture of the universe predicts," said Chihway Chang from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Dr Chang was one of the report's lead authors.
"Zooming into the maps, we have measured how dark matter envelops galaxies of different types, and how together they evolve over cosmic time," she said.
Stalking Einstein
Bigger surprises may come when the survey reaches its ultimate goal: testing the idea of dark energy.
Once the DES team has finished its map of dark matter, spreading its massive tendrils across the cosmos, they will be in a position to measure just how fast those tendrils, along with all the matter we can see, are flying apart.
This view of the dark matter map includes galaxy clusters (circles) which tend to sit in the dense patches
This expansion of the universe is happening at an increasing rate, and dark energy is the force physicists have proposed to account for that increase.
"How fast the dark matter clumps together tells us about how fast the universe is being stretched apart," explained Prof Bridle.
So by comparing dark matter "clumpiness" in different ages of the universe - which we can see as different distances - scientists will be able to pinpoint the rate of expansion. And that will point to the nature of dark energy.
It might simply yield a precise measurement of this mysterious force.
Or it might go further, Prof Bridle said:
"It's also possible, with the same data, to show that dark energy is not a good theory for explaining what's going on - and in fact, general relativity itself is wrong."
The simplest theory for explaining dark energy, which is based on Einstein's relativity, she added, is "terrible" - but it is the best available.
The DES might just shake things up.
"We expect something weird to happen," Prof Bridle said.
Google began in 1996 as a project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Larry and Sergey were both studying at Stanford University California. In their research project they came up with a plan to make a search engine that ranked websites according to the number of other websites that linked to that site (and ultimately came up with the Google we have today). Before Google, search engines had ranked sites simply by the number of times the search term searched for appeared on the webpage, and the duo set out to make a more “aware” search engine.
The domain google.com was registered on September 14th 1997 and Google Corporation was formed a year later in September 1998.
Google started selling advertisements with its keyword searches in 2000, and so Google Adwords/Adsense was born. These advertisements used a system based on the pretence that you only paid for your advertising if some clicked on your ad link – hence the term Pay Per Click (PPC) was born.
The term PageRank was patented in September 2001 – this term is actually named after co-founder Larry Page and not, as some think, named because it is the rank of a page (webpage).
Also in 2001 co-founder Larry Page stood down as the CEO of Google and former CEO of Novel. Eric Schmidt. was appointed as the new CEO of Google.
Google moved its offices to its large Google estate (nicknamed GooglePlex) in Mountainview California in 2003, and is still based there today.
In 2004, Google launched its own free web-based email service, known as Gmail. This service was made to rival the free online mail services supplied by Yahoo and Microsoft (hotmail). This new free email service shook up the very foundation of free email with its enormous 1 GB of email storage which dwarfed its rivals’ ten-fold.
In 2004 Google launched Google Earth. Google Earth is an amazing creation that is a map of the earth based on satellite imagery. This interactive globe of the world allows you to type in a search for any place in the world and you will automatically be taken to that part of the world. The cool part is that with Google Earth you can zoom right in to street level and actually see your own street and even your house!
An interesting fact in the history of Google is that in September 2005, Google made a new partnership with a very interesting company – NASA. This involved building a 1-million square foot research and development centre at NASA’s Ames Research Center. This was interestingly followed a few months later by the launch of Google Mars and Google Moon: two Google maps style applications built on pictures of the moon and the planet Mars.
In 2006 Google launched Google Video. Google Video is a cool new search tool. As its title suggests Google video allows you to search the internet for videos. There are thousands of videos to make your search from; from personal homemade videos to TV shows made by the big television corporations.
In 2006 Google was added to the Oxford English dictionary as a verb – the verb “to Google” has become so popular that Google has even been worried that their brand name might lose their copyright and patent protections, and allow other companies to be able to legally use the Google brand in their own brand.
Today (Article written end of 2006) Google has a dominant controlling share of the search market. Google is the most widely used search engine on the internet with a 54% market share. Yahoo! Is Google’s closest rival with 23%, less than half of Google’s share, and MSN even falls far short of Yahoo!, lagging far behind in 3rd place with a 13% market share. If these figures aren’t impressive enough for Google, independent estimates say that more than 80% of search referrals come from Google – Google receives about a billion search requests per day – and with estimates that Google makes 12 cents for every search you perform, you can see that Google corporation is a very lucrative business!
With the many many applications and products that Google has brought out, and the control it has over the internet it is possible that Google will become a very very influential part of all of our lives in years to come.
Microsoft Windows has seen nine major versions since its first release in 1985. Over 29 years later, Windows looks very different but somehow familiar with elements that have survived the test of time, increases in computing power and – most recently – a shift from the keyboard and mouse to the touchscreen.
Here’s a brief look at the history of Windows, from its birth at the hands of Bill Gates with Windows 1 to the latest arrival under new Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.
Windows 1
The first version of Windows. Photograph: Wikipedia
This is where it all started for Windows. The original Windows 1 was released in November 1985 and was Microsoft’s first true attempt at a graphical user interface in 16-bit.
Development was spearheaded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and ran on top of MS-DOS, which relied on command-line input.
It was notable because it relied heavily on use of a mouse before the mouse was a common computer input device. To help users become familiar with this odd input system, Microsoft included a game, Reversi (visible in the screenshot) that relied on mouse control, not the keyboard, to get people used to moving the mouse around and clicking onscreen elements.
Windows 2
Windows 2 with overlapping windows. Photograph: Wikipedia
Two years after the release of Windows 1, Microsoft’s Windows 2 replaced it in December 1987. The big innovation for Windows 2 was that windows could overlap each other, and it also introduced the ability to minimise or maximise windows instead of “iconising” or “zooming”.
The control panel, where various system settings and configuration options were collected together in one place, was introduced in Windows 2 and survives to this day.
Microsoft Word and Excel also made their first appearances running on Windows 2.
Windows 3
Windows 3.0 got colourful.
The first Windows that required a hard drive launched in 1990. Windows 3 was the first version to see more widespread success and be considered a challenger to Apple’s Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga graphical user interfaces, coming pre-installed on computers from PC-compatible manufacturers including Zenith Data Systems.
Windows 3 introduced the ability to run MS-DOS programmes in windows, which brought multitasking to legacy programmes, and supported 256 colours bringing a more modern, colourful look to the interface.
More important - at least to the sum total of human time wasted - it introduced the card-moving timesink (and mouse use trainer) Solitaire.
Windows 3.1
Windows 3.1 with Minesweeper. Photograph: Wikipedia
Windows 1 and 2 both had point release updates, but Windows 3.1 released in 1992 is notable because it introduced TrueType fonts making Windows a viable publishing platform for the first time.
Minesweeper also made its first appearance. Windows 3.1 required 1MB of RAM to run and allowed supported MS-DOS programs to be controlled with a mouse for the first time. Windows 3.1 was also the first Windows to be distributed on a CD-ROM, although once installed on a hard drive it only took up 10 to 15MB (a CD can typically store up to 700MB).
Windows 95
Windows 95: oh hello Start menu.
As the name implies, Windows 95 arrived in August 1995 and with it brought the first ever Start button and Start menu (launched with a gigantic advertising campaign that used the Rolling Stones’ Start Me Up, and a couple of months laterFriends stars Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry. Could it be any more up-to-date?)
It also introduced the concept of “plug and play” – connect a peripheral and the operating system finds the appropriate drivers for it and makes it work. That was the idea; it didn’t always work in practice.
Windows 95 also introduced a 32-bit environment, the task bar and focused on multitasking. MS-DOS still played an important role for Windows 95, which required it to run some programmes and elements.
Internet Explorer also made its debut on Windows 95, but was not installed by default requiring the Windows 95 Plus! pack. Later revisions of Windows 95 included IE by default, as Netscape Navigator and NCSA Mosaic were popular at the time.
Windows 98
Windows 98, the last great DOS-based Windows. Photograph: Wikipedia
Released in June 1998, Windows 98 built on Windows 95 and brought with it IE 4, Outlook Express, Windows Address Book, Microsoft Chat and NetShow Player, which was replaced by Windows Media Player 6.2 in Windows 98 Second Edition in 1999.
Windows 98 introduced the back and forward navigation buttons and the address bar in Windows Explorer, among other things. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of the Windows Driver Model for computer components and accessories – one driver to support all future versions of Windows.
USB support was much improved in Windows 98 and led to its widespread adoption, including USB hubs and USB mice.
Windows ME
Windows ME was one to skip. Photograph: Wikipedia
Considered a low point in the Windows series by many – at least, until they saw Windows Vista – Windows Millennium Edition was the last Windows to be based on MS-DOS, and the last in the Windows 9x line.
Released in September 2000, it was the consumer-aimed operating system twined with Windows 2000 aimed at the enterprise market. It introduced some important concepts to consumers, including more automated system recovery tools.
IE 5.5, Windows Media Player 7 and Windows Movie Maker all made their appearance for the first time. Autocomplete also appeared in Windows Explorer, but the operating system was notorious for being buggy, failing to install properly and being generally poor.
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 was ME’s enterprise twin. Photograph: Wikipedia
The enterprise twin of ME, Windows 2000 was released in February 2000 and was based on Microsoft’s business-orientated system Windows NT and later became the basis for Windows XP.
Microsoft’s automatic updating played an important role in Windows 2000 and became the first Windows to support hibernation.
Arguably one of the best Windows versions, Windows XP was released in October 2001 and brought Microsoft’s enterprise line and consumer line of operating systems under one roof.
It was based on Windows NT like Windows 2000, but brought the consumer-friendly elements from Windows ME. The Start menu and task bar got a visual overhaul, bringing the familiar green Start button, blue task bar and vista wallpaper, along with various shadow and other visual effects.
ClearType, which was designed to make text easier to read on LCD screens, was introduced, as were built-in CD burning, autoplay from CDs and other media, plus various automated update and recovery tools, that unlike Windows ME actually worked.
Windows XP was the longest running Microsoft operating system, seeing three major updates and support up until April 2014 – 13 years from its original release date. Windows XP was still used on an estimated 430m PCs when it was discontinued.
Its biggest problem was security: though it had a firewall built in, it was turned off by default. Windows XP’s huge popularity turned out to be a boon for hackers and criminals, who exploited its flaws, especially in Internet Explorer, mercilessly - leading Bill Gates to initiate a “Trustworthy Computing” initiative and the subsequent issuance of to Service Pack updates that hardened XP against attack substantially.
Windows Vista, arguably worse than Windows ME. Photograph: Microsoft
Windows XP stayed the course for close to six years before being replaced by Windows Vista in January 2007. Vista updated the look and feel of Windows with more focus on transparent elements, search and security. Its development, under the codename “Longhorn”, was troubled, with ambitious elements abandoned in order to get it into production.
It was buggy, burdened the user with hundreds of requests for app permissions under “User Account Control” - the outcome of the Trustworthy Computing initiative which now meant that users had to approve or disapprove attempts by programs to make various changes. The problem with UAC was that it led to complacency, with people clicking “yes” to almost anything - taking security back to the pre-UAC state. It also ran slowly on older computers despite them being deemed as “Vista Ready” - a labelling that saw it sued because not all versions of Vista could run on PCs with that label.
PC gamers saw a boost from Vista’s inclusion of Microsoft’s DirectX 10 technology.
Windows Media Player 11 and IE 7 debuted, along with Windows Defender an anti-spyware programme. Vista also included speech recognition, Windows DVD Maker and Photo Gallery, as well as being the first Windows to be distributed on DVD. Later a version of Windows Vista without Windows Media Player was created in response to anti-trust investigations.
Windows 7
Windows 7 was everything Windows Vista should have been. Photograph: Wikipedia
Considered by many as what Windows Vista should have been, Windows 7 was first released in October 2009. It was intended to fix all the problems and criticism faced by Vista, with slight tweaks to its appearance and a concentration on user-friendly features and less “dialogue box overload”.
It was faster, more stable and easier to use, becoming the operating system most users and business would upgrade to from Windows XP, forgoing Vista entirely.
Handwriting recognition debuted in 7, as did the ability to “snap” windows to the tops or sides of the screen, allowing faster more automatic window resizing.
Windows 7 saw Microsoft hit in Europe with antitrust investigations over the pre-installing of IE, which led to a browser ballot screen being shown to new users allowing them to choose, which browser to install on first boot.
Windows 8 focused more on touch than a keyboard and mouse.
Released in October 2012, Windows 8 was Microsoft’s most radical overhaul of the Windows interface, ditching the Start button and Start menu in favour of a more touch-friendly Start screen.
The new tiled interface saw programme icons and live tiles, which displayed at-a-glance information normally associated with “widgets”, replace the lists of programmes and icons. A desktop was still included, which resembled Windows 7.
Windows 8 was faster than previous versions of Windows and included support for the new, much faster USB 3.0 devices. The Windows Store, which offers universal Windows apps that run in a full-screen mode only, was introduced. Programs could still be installed from third-parties like other iterations of Windows, but they could only access the traditional desktop interface of Windows.
The radical overhaul was not welcomed by many. Microsoft attempted to tread a fine line between touchscreen support and desktop users, but ultimately desktop users wanting to control Windows with a traditional mouse and keyboard and not a touchscreen felt Windows 8 was a step back. There were also too few touchscreens in use, or on offer, to make its touch-oriented interface useful or even necessary - despite the parallel rise of tablets such as the iPad, and smartphones, which had begun outselling PCs by the end of 2010.
Windows RT, which runs on ARM-based processors traditionally found in smartphones and non-PC tablets, was introduced at the same time as Windows 8 with the Microsoft Surface tablet. It looked and felt like Windows 8, but could not run traditional Windows applications, instead solely relying on the Windows Store for third-party apps.
Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 and the great reappearance of the Start button.
A free point release to Windows 8 introduced in October 2013, Windows 8.1 marked a shift towards yearly software updates from Microsoft and included the first step in Microsoft’s U-turn around its new visual interface.
Windows 8.1 re-introduced the Start button, which brought up the Start screen from the desktop view of Windows 8.1. Users could also choose to boot directly into the desktop of Windows 8.1, which was more suitable for those using a desktop computer with a mouse and keyboard than the touch-focused Start screen.
Windows 10
Windows 10 brings back the Start menu
Announced on 30 September 2014, Windows 10 has only been released as a test version for keen users to try. The “technical preview” is very much still a work in progress.
Windows 10 represents another step in Microsoft’s U-turn, bringing back the Start menu and more balance to traditional desktop computer users.
Some interesting features include the ability to switch between a keyboard and mouse mode and a tablet mode, for those computers like the Surface Pro 3 with a detachable keyboard.
Windows 10 – despite being the ninth version of Windows – is designed to unify all Windows platforms across multiple devices, including Windows Phone and tablets, with universal apps that can be downloaded from the Windows Store and run on all Windows devices.
It won’t be available until 2015, likely after Microsoft’s Build developer conference in April, so for now Windows 8.1 is the latest version of Windows.
