12 Oktober 2010

Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 7

An employee presents the new operating system for mobile phones "Windows Phone" on a smartphone HD2 of mobile phone manufacturer HTC at the Microsoft stand at the CeBit 2010 exhibition in Hanover, March 2010. Microsoft unveiled a new mobile phone operating system as it seeks to regain ground lost to the iPhone, Blackberry and devices powered by Google's Android software.

NEW YORK (AFP) - – Microsoft unveiled a new mobile phone operating system on Monday as it seeks to regain ground lost to the iPhone, Blackberry and devices powered by Google's Android software.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer took the wraps off nine mobile phones powered by Windows Phone 7 (WP7) at an event at a loft in New York's Chelsea neighborhood.

Ballmer said more than 60 mobile operators around the world will offer the devices, made by South Korea's Samsung and LG Electronics, Taiwan's HTC and Dell, the US computer giant, in more than 30 countries.

"We have built a different kind of a phone," Ballmer said. "We set out to build a phone that was thoroughly modern."

US telecom carrier AT&T showed off three devices which will sell for around 200 dollars in the United States, about the same price as Apple's iPhone.

Another US carrier, T-Mobile, will offer two WP7-powered devices in November.

WP7 is Microsoft's first significant update to its mobile operating system in 18 months and its release comes on the heels of the disastrous launch of a "Kin" line of phones, which were pulled from stores after just two months.

Though mobile makes up only one percent of Microsoft's revenue, the smartphone market is growing by around 30 percent a year and the software behemoth is determined to remain a player in the sector.

Hotel di angkasa


STESEN angkasa Orbital Technologies.

JIKA memperkatakan mengenai pelancongan di angkasa, Rusia agak mendahului semua negara di dunia apabila menerima pelancong angkasa pertama mereka, Dennis Tito pada pertengahan 2001 yang meluangkan masa selama lapan hari di angkasa.

Bekas saintis JPL itu menaiki pesawat angkasa Soyuz TM-32 menuju ke Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa (ISS) yang mengelilingi orbit dan kemudiannya kembali ke bumi menaiki pesawat Soyuz TM-31.

Memandangkan sambutan menggalakkan daripada orang-orang kaya yang ingin merasai nikmat berada di luar orbit bumi dan meningkatnya bilangan pengunjung ke ISS, sebuah syarikat Rusia, Orbital Technologies mengumumkan untuk membina, melancar dan mengendalikan stesen angkasa komersial (CSS) pertama.

Matlamat stesen itu adalah untuk menempatkankan kakitangan profesional dan penyelidik korporat untuk menjalankan uji kaji saintifik dan juga masyarakat awam yang inginkan percutian keluar daripada bumi.

CSS akan dibina oleh pengeluar pesawat angkasa Rusia, RSC Energia dengan mempunyai kapasiti untuk menempatkan tujuh orang dan boleh dipertingkatkan di masa depan.

Mereka yang hendak ke stesen itu akan menggunakan pesawat angkasa Soyuz dan Progress dari Rusia dan juga lain-lain kapal angkasa kargo dan pembawa manusia yang dijangka beroperasi dalam masa 10 tahun lagi.

Menurut Orbital Technologies, stesen yang akan dibina itu akan mempunyai sistem pendaratan yang boleh dihubungkan dengan mana-mana pesawat dari Amerika Syarikat, Eropah atau China di masa depan.

CSS akan berada dalam jarak kira-kira 100 kilometer dari ISS bagi menjimatkan kos pemindahan krew dan kargo antara kedua stesen serta memaksimumkan peluang kerjasama dan perniagaan. Selain itu, CSS juga boleh menjadi tempat penempatan kecemasan untuk krew ISS jika diperlukan.

"Jika ISS perlu melakukan penyelengaraan atau berlaku kecemasan, krew ISS tidak perlu pulang ke bumi tetapi hanya perlu tinggal di CSS," kata Ketua Jabatan Pesawat Penerbangan Manusia, Agensi Angkasa Persekutuan Rusia (Roscosmos), Alexey Krasnov.

Modul pertama CSS akan berukuran 20 meter padu dan mempunyai empat kabin, bagaimanapun ia direka agar lebih selesa daripada ISS dan mempunyai ruang melihat bumi yang lebih besar.

Melancong ke orbit

Orbital Technologies bukan merupakan syarikat pertama yang mengumumkan untuk mereka bentuk stesen angkasa komersial untuk dijadikan hotel. Pada 2007, Galactic Suite Design mengumumkan pelannya untuk membangunkan 'rantaian hotel di orbit' dengan pembinaan resort angkasa mewah yang dijangka siap pada 2010.

Menurut syarikat itu, kos pakej pelancongan itu adalah RM13 juta yang mana ia juga akan meliputi perjalanan ke pulau Caribbean, menjalani latihan menjadi angkasawan selama 18 minggu dan juga perjalanan selama empat hari di angkasa.

Sistem pelancaran kapal angkasa yang dirancang akan direka dengan ciri-ciri keselamatan tinggi dengan meminimakan impak kepada alam ketika berlepas dan mendarat di bumi.

Pesawat itu dikatakan mampu memecut sehingga 1,000 kilometer sejam (km/j) dalam masa kurang daripada 20 saat dan apabila mencecah kelajuan bunyi (kira-kira 1,236 km/j), pesawat itu akan berpisah dengan roket pelonjak dan mengelilingi orbit menggunakan enjin pesawat.

Apabila di orbit, tetamu berpeluang berkomunikasi dengan media atau saudara mara di bumi dan di dalam pesawat itu.

Galactic Suite menyatakan akan membina spa di angkasa yang mana ia merupakan sebuah bilik mandi dengan graviti sifar, selain mempuyai basikal senaman.

Walaupun, syarikat itu telah mengambil tempahan tetapi setakat ini tiada sebarang perkakasan atau peralatan projek yang telah dibina atau diuji - yang seterusnya menimbulkan kritik mengenai kemampuan syarikat itu untuk melaksanakan projek impian tersebut.

Sementara itu, bagi projek CSS, Orbital Technologies telah menandatangani perjanjian kerjasama dengan RSC Energia dan Roscosmos.

Mereka juga mendakwa peruntukan untuk pembangunan dan pelaksanaan projek CSS telah diperoleh dan kini sedang menyiapkan jadual kerja operasi stesen itu yang dijangka dapat diperkenalkan pada 2015 atau 2016.

Walaupun tiada harga diumumkan untuk sesiapa yang berminat melancong ke stesyen ini tetapi anda perlu mengumpul wang berjuta-juta ringgit dari sekarang.

Cicak tokek mampu jadi penawar penyakit HIV/AIDS?


DUA ekor cicak tokek kepunyaan Mohamad Fauzi di Bukit Setongkol, Kuantan.

KUANTAN 7 Ogos - Cicak tokek mungkin spesies yang jarang didengari oleh masyarakat tempatan tetapi haiwan itu mempunyai nilai tinggi di pasaran kerana didakwa mempunyai khasiat mujarab untuk merawat pelbagai penyakit termasuk HIV/AIDS.

Seorang pengarah urusan sebuah syarikat di sini yang memiliki dua ekor cicak tersebut berharap satu kajian saintifik dapat dilakukan bagi membuktikan kebenaran dakwaan itu.

Mohamad Fauzi Mohd. Norman 42, berkata, dia mula memelihara dua ekor cicak tersebut selepas salah seorang daripada saudaranya memberikan haiwan itu kepadanya sebagai cenderahati.

Menurutnya, saudaranya itu menangkap cicak tersebut di kawasan hutan Hulu Terengganu dan ketika diberikan kepadanya, dia tidak mengetahui keistimewaan haiwan itu.

"Saya bertanya kepada kenalan dan merujuk dalam laman web mengenai spesies cicak ini sebelum mendapati ia amat bernilai kerana mempunyai pelbagai khasiat," katanya ketika ditemui di rumahnya di sini hari ini.

Menurutnya, hasil rujukan yang dibuat mendapati cicak miliknya yang berusia tiga bulan itu dipercayai boleh dijadikan ubat untuk merawat penyakit kronik seperti HIV/AIDS, sakit kulit dan asma.

"Dipercayai setelah cicak itu mencecah berat 350 gram ke atas, ia boleh mengeluarkan satu enzim yang mampu mengubati penyakit HIV dan AIDS," katanya.

Bagaimanapun, jelasnya, kebenaran dakwaan itu tidak dapat dipastikan dan ia boleh dibuktikan jika satu kajian saintifik dijalankan terhadap haiwan tersebut.

Dalam pada itu, dia turut dimaklumkan harga bagi seekor cicak tersebut di pasaran boleh mencapai RM3 juta jika berat haiwan tersebut mencecah 500 gram.

"Saya anggarkan dua ekor cicak tokek yang saya pelihara ini masing-masing seberat 100 gram dan 90 gram. Tetapi saya percaya ia mampu untuk membesar lagi,'' katanya.

Seekor Cicak Tokek Mencecah Puluhan Ribu Ringgit

PhotobucketTanggapan luar biasa telah diberikan oleh masyarakat mengenai tokek yang ternyata benilai tinggi. Masyarakat berbondong-bondong memburu tokek ataupun memelihara sambil berharap dapat menjual tokek dengan ukuran yang besar dan berharga tinggi. Namun sampai sekarangpun masih banyak yang tidak mengerti untuk apa tokek diperjual belikan dan apa khasiat sebenarnya.

Sebuah fakta baru dalam dunia pengubatan ilmiah/bukan magic bahwa ternyata tokek mengandung suatu zat aktif yang mempunyai sifat theurapetik. fakta ini muncul seperti pada kejadian empedu beruang yang ternyata juga mengandung zat aktif bersifat theurapetik. Zat aktif tersebut yang masih dalam tahap uji klinis tahap 1telah menunjukkan hasil yang signifikan. zat aktif yang diberi dengan nama IUPAC Tri-heksipentafenikol mempunyai sifat menghambat pertumbuhan kanker/metastasis sel kanker, melawan HIV dan H1N1 viral. Mari kita semua mengharapkan yang terbaik bagi umat manusia dengan ditemukannya sistim pengobatan ini.

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Tokek adalah nama umum untuk menyebut cecak besar. Ada beberapa jenis tokek, namun istilah tokek biasanya merujuk kepada jenis tokek rumah berikut.

Tokek rumah adalah sejenis reptil yang masuk ke dalam golongan cecak besar, suku Gekkonidae. Tokek rumah memiliki nama ilmiah Gekko gecko (Linnaeus, 1758). Dalam bahasa lain hewan ini disebut sebagai téko atau tekék (bahasa Jawa), tokék (bahasa Sunda), dan tokay gecko atau tucktoo (bahasa Inggris).

Sumber: Wikipedia

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Singapore businessman to renew Liverpool bid: BBC

A 'For Sale' sign is pictured above a shop, opposite Liverpool Football Club's Anfield Stadium. Singapore billionaire Peter Lim is to make a renewed bid for ailing English Premier League giants Liverpool by offering to buy the club for more money than the Americans preferred by the club's board the BBC claimed on Monday.

LONDON (AFP) - – Singapore billionaire Peter Lim is to make a renewed bid for ailing English Premier League giants Liverpool by offering to buy the club for more money than the Americans preferred by the club's board the BBC claimed on Monday.

Lim, who made his fortune in fashion, logistics and agri-business, thought he was the preferred option to buy the club off the unpopular American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett the BBC citing sources close to the Singapore businessman claimed.

However, Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton announced last Wednesday that Liverpool would instead be sold to John Henry's New England Sport Ventures for 300million pounds.

Lim believes that Henry's offer was no better than his in financial terms.

Lim was offering to repay all of Royal Bank of Scotland's and Wachovia's 200million pounds of long-term debt, to take on 60million pounds of other debt and to inject 40million pounds of working capital.

The Singapore businessman unlike the American bidders would also finance the whole deal without having to borrow any money.

Executives close to Lim claim he was told by Broughton that this made him a better option for buying the club than New England Sports Ventures.

He was told that Liverpool's board was concerned that the Americans would have to borrow to finance the takeover - ringing alarm bells that the club would find itself no better off under new American owners as their present ones.

Gillett and Hicks for their part are not satisfied with the deal agreed by Broughton with their compatriots and have gone to court over it.

That case is scheduled to get under way in London's High Court on Tuesday with the club's unpopular American owners trying to block the takeover bid.

The case will hinge on whether Broughton had the authority to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), against the wishes of the present owners.

Broughton, appointed as independent chairman in April, agreed the sale with the support of managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre, who out-voted Hicks and Gillett 3-2.

Hicks and Gillett unsuccessfully attempted to sack Purslow and Ayre shortly before the board meeting which approved the deal.

Broughton claims that when the owners decided to sell the club in April, major creditor Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) requested undertakings that only he, as independent chairman, could make changes to the club's board.

Hicks has denied that any such undertakings in place and that therefore Broughton's actions in forcing through the sale were illegal and invalid.

The boardroom battle has coincided with Liverpool's worst start to a season for nearly 50 years, with the club languishing in the relegation zone and eliminated from the League Cup.

Strand Craft Yacht & Supercar for Sale at $27.5 Million


The Strand Craft 122 superyacth / supercar combo we first told you about back in May has moved beyond the concept stage into a production-ready rocketship. The first example has just been listed for sale by Sweden's Gray Design via global online luxury marketplace JamesList for about $27.5 million, with a slated delivery date of October 2013. The sleek 125-ft. craft will be able to reach a top speed of 55 knots with the use of her optional Rolls-Royce KaMeWa boosters kicking out over 14,000 hp. High gloss mahogany inlays on the foredeck and all-glass atrium covering the cockpit deliver the best facets of both open and closed yachting in one razor sharp high-tech package.

The retro-futuristic Art Deco interior features four large, bedrooms, reception and leather-upholstered salon areas alongside comfortable crew cabins. Elliptical bulletproof windows that stretch halfway across the hull and enough Greek marble to recreate Athens round out the fancy finishes. The specially handcrafted carbon fiber supercar that comes with it is a completely one-off design closely resembling the genetic form and fashion of the mothership. With a rear mounted, 880hp twin-turbo V12 engine it has an estimated 375 km/h top speed and a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds. A hydraulic garage door raises upwards and deploys a retractable ramp to become a dockside driveway.





The Launch of Cunard's New Queen Elizabeth Ship


The latest Queen Elizabeth ship, the third generation of ocean liners going back to the late 1930s, was named by the actual Queen ElizabethMonday in Southampton, England. The $634 million ship, the third and final new vessel to be launched by Cunard in a decade, begins its maiden voyage on Tuesday.

She will be nearly full with her maximum 2,094 passengers. The sailing sold out some 18 months ago in 29 minutes and 29 seconds.

Much has changed since the QE2, which went out of service two years ago and was ignominiously sent to Dubai to function as a hotel. Gone are the ripple-effect ceilings and bachelor-pad brass fittings that made the previous ship the latest in 1970s sophistication.

This iteration, technically the QE3 but called simply the QE like the first in the line, hews closely to Cunard's current design ethic, and in both ethic and size, is largely similar to the Queen Victoria, launched in 2007. Extensive wood paneling, art deco touches, and swooping shapes in the ceiling and balustrades mark the interior.
The centerpiece of the ship is an 18 1/2-foot-tall wood art installation that presides over the Grand Lobby. The marquetry panel depicting the original QE -- a liner turned World War service ship turned liner -- was hand-made by Queen Elizabeth's only nephew, David Linley, who is the son of the late Princess Margaret and photographer Lord Snowden. Even without its nepotistic origins, the subtle woods, with knot placement subtly placed to accentuate perspective, is impressive.

Also in the Grand Lobby, facing the marquetry, is an official portrait of the queen, by the youngest female artist to paint the monarch, Isobel Peachey. The Queen sat three times for Peachey, who, lacking a studio, finished the work in her mother's attic.

As a ship that borrows heavily from an oceangoing tradition going back 170 years, Cunard's ships aren't packed with the latest bells and whistles -- although in the QE's case, there is one very large bell, which once stood on the QE2's deck, on display in the Commodore's Club. Instead, designers appear more concerned about providing plenty of places to lounge with a glass of champagne.

Celebrity chef Todd English, who has presences on Cunard's other ships, the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria, does not oversee a kitchen on the new QE. Instead, Chef Jean-Marie Zimmermann, shown above, who will sail with the vessel rather than just oversee cuisine, runs The Verandah, an extra-charge fine French restaurant located on off the Grand Lobby.

Other Cunard dining standards cater to passengers according to their booking class -- Britannia for third class, Princess Grill for second class, and the Queens Grill for first class. In fact, most of the ship is given over to Cunard standards, including the two-level Queens Room, shown above, for dancing with live music, the Royal Arcade for shopping and the Golden Lion evoking a traditional British pub.

One feature being revived from the original QE is the Garden Lounge, a conservatory-style space with a vaulted glass ceiling on the top of the ship. By day, it's a bar and lounge serving the pool areas, and by night, it can serve as a "supper club" for entertainment and dancing with outdoor deck access.


In keeping with Cunard's upscale and well-educated clientele, there's a resident theatre company that performs both musicals and plays. In another sign of whom it expects to host, the kids' area is a mere modest gesture. On Cunard, families are unusual.

Staterooms are nothing special for the cruise industry, although closet space is more ample than the norm, given the line imperative that at least one or two nights of a cruise require black-tie dress. The most lavish suite, the Grand, is notably restrained.

There's no grand piano as in the Norwegian Epic's highest class of cabin. Instead, there's plenty of open space uncluttered by much furniture, a mosaic above the bathtub, a walk-in closet, and a wraparound balcony. Just 162 of the 1,046 staterooms are inside cabins. While the QE2 had no balcony cabins, the new QE has 572 in standard Britannia class alone.

It's a sign of how much the cruise industry has shifted in 30 years. Cunard's new QE may be stocked with some pleasant features that gently recall the past, but it's most a modern cruise ship cut from tasteful cloth, more evocative than truly traditional.

Pagani Zonda 750



Another day, another special edition of the Pagani Zonda. This time it's been commissioned by an unspecified Middle Eastern buyer. Called the Zonda 750, it's based on the limited-production Zonda Cinque, but is further distinguished by its unique purple paint scheme and a specially-designed rear window to accommodate the big overhead air intake.

With few details revealed with the trio of images, speculations circulating is that the 750 denotes the horsepower figure on the Mercedes AMG-built 7.3-liter V12, which would certainly push the Zonda's already unworldly performance into the next dimension. And of course there's no telling how much the customer paid for the privilege of owning a bespoke supercar tailored to his exact specifications, but as the old adage goes, if you have to ask....

Bayi 10.10.10.10:10:10


KEELIE HEARNE dan Dean Bond bersama anak mereka, Nianh Bond di Hospital Good Hope di Sutton Coldfield kelmarin.


SUTTON COLDFIELD, Britain - Seorang ibu melahirkan bayi perempuan pada pukul 10 pagi 10 minit dan 10 saat pada 10 Oktober 2010 di Hospital Good Hope di Sutton Coldfield, Britain, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Ibu itu, Keelie Hearne melahirkan anak perempuannya itu seberat 1.68 kilogram yang diberi nama Niamh Bond.

Sebuah jam digital mencatatkan masa kelahiran bayi itu dengan tepat.

Hearne yang berusia 20 tahun berkata:"Apabila saya merenung ke arah jam dan melihat sepuluh saat, saya berasa terkejut besar."

Menurutnya, tarikh lahir anaknya dianggap terlalu istimewa kerana kelahiran itu merupakan yang pertama buat dirinya.

"Dia (anaknya) amat kecil dan mempunyai jari-jari yang halus. Dia amat cantik," katanya.

Bayi itu dilahirkan lapan minggu lebih awal daripada jangkaan asal.

Namun, air ketubannya pecah semasa dia bekerja sebagai pelayan pub menyebabkan dia dihantar ke hospital itu pada malam Sabtu lalu.

Pada pukul 9.40 pagi kelmarin, dia mula menunjukkan tanda-tanda akan melahirkan anak.

Pasangan hidup Hearne, Dean Bond yang berumur 22 tahun yang masih belajar cara-cara menurap bata di sebuah kolej menganggap kelahiran anaknya itu merupakan hari yang paling bertuah dalam abad ini.

Bond berharap kelahiran anaknya itu akan memberi tuah untuk keluarganya. - Agensi

Pemuzik kudung juara China's Got Talent


GAMBAR fail menunjukkan Liu Wei bermain piano dengan kakinya di Shanghai pada 26 Ogos lalu.


SHANGHAI - Seorang pemuzik yang kudung tangannya, Liu Wei menjuarai program pencarian bakat, China's Got Talent, selepas dia bermain piano dengan menyampaikan lagu cinta You're Beautiful nyanyian James Blunt dengan menggunakan kakinya di hadapan penonton di Stadium Shanghai, di sini.

Ketiga-tiga juri program tersebut kelmarin memuji Wei, 23, kerana keazamannya dan menggesa pemuda itu supaya terus mengejar impiannya.

Wei yang berasal dari ibu negara China, Beijing, berkata, dia akan terus berusaha menggapai impiannya.

"Sekurang-kurangnya saya memiliki kaki yang sempurna," katanya.

Sebagai pemenang, Wei akan diundang untuk menunjukkan persembahannya bersama penyanyi wanita popular Taiwan, Jolin Tsai selain memenangi kontrak persembahan muzik.

Program berkenaan yang bermula Julai lepas merupakan sebahagian program francais televisyen Britain's Got Talent yang diasaskan oleh Simon Cowell dan ditayangkan di lebih 30 negara. - AP

Kapal angkasa komersial diuji


GAMBAR menunjukkan kapal angkasa VSS Enterprise terbang di Mojave, California kelmarin.


LOS ANGELES - Kapal angkasa komersial pertama di dunia, VSS Enterprise melakukan penerbangan buat kali pertama di negeri California, Amerika Syarikat (AS) sebelum mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Kapal Angkasa Mojave, kelmarin.

Kapal angkasa berkenaan dibina oleh kumpulan Virgin, syarikat milik bilionair Britain, Sir Richard Branson yang juga pemilik pasukan perlumbaan Formula Satu (F1), Virgin Racing.

Dalam satu kenyataannya, kumpulan Virgin memberitahu, VSS Enterprise meninggalkan pesawat induknya WhiteKnight2 yang sebelum ini bercantum dengannya pada ketinggian 13,700 meter.

Semasa penerbangan, kapal angkasa itu dikendalikan oleh juruterbang, Pete Siebold dengan Mike Alsbury sebagai pembantu juruterbang.

Penerbangan ujian itu dilakukan untuk menguji perlepasan VSS Enterpise dari kapal induknya selain keupayaan kedua-dua juruterbang itu mengemudi dan mendaratkan kapal angkasa itu di Lapangan Terbang Kapal Angkasa Mojave.

"VSS Enterprise menyeronokkan untuk dikendalikan, bukan sahaja kerana kapal angkasa itu mampu bergerak selaju 4,152 kilometer sejam tetapi ia juga meluncur pada altitud paling tinggi di dunia," kata Siebold. - AFP

DUIT