Facebook Launches Social Network Search Tool, ‘Facebook Graph Search':

With rumours going around Facebook about building its own smartphone and Mobile OS, the announcement on Tuesday brought in another news. Facebook launched its social network search tool, named Graph Search.

Searching content on Facebook can sometimes end up with disappointing results and render useless. The Graph Search tries to provide a solution to the navigation and search in the social networking website. Everyday, millions of users share billions of information all over the world. This tool brings in a powerful feature which searches throughout the network with specific filters and brings out the results you were searching for. For example, the queries give you the opportunity to look for the pages your friends like or friends with similar interests.

The search results would only include content which were shared by you or the ones which are public. Facebook ensured that the users’ privacy won’t be compromised. The Graph Search tool would eventually help people to connect with other people with similar interests, giving a better experience. To test this tool out, you need to sign up to the waiting list, since the tool is in its Beta version. To sign up, you need to visit Facebook Graph Search.

Black Silicon To Increase The Efficiency Of Solar Cells:

A big drawback in wide use of solar energy is that thesilicon based solar cells are not much efficient. Scientists at Alto university have found a way to increase the efficiency through Black Silicon (b-Si). The new silicon nano-structure helps to absorb more light, resulting in a more efficient product.

According to Paivikki Repo, the scientist behind the study, this method provides extremely good surface passivization. It also reduces the reflectance further at all wavelengths. Paivikki believes that results are so promising that they can take the efficiency of solar cells on a completely new level. The new nano-structure is developed using atomic layer coating. b-Si can be used in development of devices that require high sensitivity light responses including solar cells.

Black Silicon is able to reduce the surface reflectance even below 1 percent, but it also has some issues. Using b-Si results in increased surface recombination that gives poor spectral response. The problem is more serious at shorter wavelengths.
 

Sony Brings In Display Calibration To Smartphone Technology:

Smartphone displays, recently being released in Full HD (1920×1080) resolution, have reached its peak in development. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013, many smartphone manufacturers bragged about their Full HD devices, steaming up the competition. But these smartphone displays now seem to have reached a point where further innovation brings only a few changes. Most of the times, a consumer is forced to choose between  display types and devices with better features.

Sony has now brought in a new feature to change these limitations. The different types of displays have their part of advantages and disadvantages. AMOLED screens give better brightness in sunlight and saturated colors, while LCD screens give realistic colors and better viewing angles. With Sony’s feature, one can calibrate the screen according to their needs. The Xperia Z and Xperia ZL would be the first ones to come with the screen calibration feature.

The user could adjust and calibrate the screen and hence include the benefits of all the display types, like having brighter colors of the Super AMOLED screen in an LCD screen. People usually tend to buy an AMOLED screen over the other displays due to the better advantages, but this feature could end the confusion. We could soon see other manufacturers including the display calibration into their devices too, which again would stagnate the technology until someone else comes up with something new.

 NASA Working On Nuclear Thermal Rocket Engines:

NASA is experimenting with the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Engines to propel the next generation of space explorers beyond the boundaries of the gravitational force of the Earth. These rocket engines will use a nuclear reactor to heat hydrogen to super high temperatures which will then escape through the nozzle with an exhaust velocity of about 10km/s to create the required thrust. The performance of such rocket engines is said to be limited by the temperature withstanding capacity of the material used for the body of the engine.

The advance propulsion researchers at NASA believe that this technology will be a significant step in future man-missions to the Mars. An important point to note is that these rockets are twice as efficient as the current generation of chemical rockets. Several tests were recently conducted at the Marshall’s Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator, or NTREES where the researchers were able to create hot hydrogen (approximately 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit) at a pressure of about 1000 psi. The data obtained from the tests will help the engineers improve their rocket design further.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j6gKFvPjGpQ

                                Firefox OS Powered Keon & Peak Phones Launched

Mozilla has finally announced first phones that run much awaited Firefox OS. The two phones named Keon and Peak are being developed by Geeksphone. The HTML-5 based Firefox OS has been in news since its announcement. The phones sports only basic features and are aimed for developers who want to build apps for Firefox OS.

The Keon is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 1GHz processor. It features a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen display, 3-megpixel camera, 4GB internal storage along with support for MicroSD, Wi-Fi and GPS. The Peak, with higher specs than the Keon, is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. It sports a 4.3-inch qHD display, 8-megapixel camera and 4GB internal storage. It also has a 2-megapixel front facing camera.

According to Stormy Peters, Director of Websites and Developer Engagement at Mozilla, in Firefox OS, HTML-5 can do phone things – they can make phone vibrate, make a phone call or send a text message. Firefox is also holding an event named Firefox OS App Days this week. At each App Day event developers will get the opportunity to learn, hack, share and celebrate Firefox OS.

Researchers Develop A New Material For High Speed Electronics

Speed is one of the key aspects of any computing system, and it depends upon the flow of electrons. Scientists at CSIRO and RMIT university have successfully developed a new two-dimension material that is able to provide ultra-high speed flow of electrons.

The new material is based on Graphene, a material that was created in 2004. Garphene supports high speed electrons but due to some of its physical properties, it cant be used in high-speed electronics. This new material is made up of layers of crystal known as molybdenum oxide. According to Dr. Serge Zhuiykov, who worked with the team, the new nano-material is made up of layers and within these layers electrons are able to zip through at high speed with minimal scattering.

Normally, when electrons hit any obstacle they scatter around it, but in the new material they can simply pass through it, that allows them to move faster. Using this new material, researchers are trying to develop smaller and faster devices. Under test condition, the achieved electron mobility value was > 1,120 cm2/Vs, that is greater than the current industry standard. Though a lot of work is still needs to be done, this material has got the potential to revolutionize the electronics market.

Micromax LED TV, Blu-Ray Player & Home Theater Launched At Attractive Prices

 

India’s Micromax has forayed into consumer electronic items including LED telivisions, blu-ray players and home theaters. The Indian brand disrupted the mobile markets by launching dual-SIM budget phones. The company recently forayed into smartphone domain by launching android devices and now it’s planning to invade your living room. The company has launched six LED tv models (details below), a blu-ray player and two home theater models.

The company recently created buzz when the reports came out that the company beat leading tablet brands like Samsung and Apple in India. Company’s current plan is to acquire about 8-10% of the television market in India by 2014. In 2011, about 17 million TV sets were sold in India and the number tells us that Micromax has a huge growth potential in the domain. Micromax’s CEO, Mr. Rajesh Agrawal says that his company expects revenues around Rs. 1000 crore from the consumer electronics segment.

Micromax has setup a manufacturing facility in Rudrapur, capable of producing 2000 LED TVs a day. The company will use the facility to produce tablets and mobile accessories as well. The price of the TV sets launched by Micromax is very competitive, take a look at the chart below.

ompany	Entry level LED TVs	Full FD Smart TV
Samsung	Rs 13,500 (19″)	Rs 4,00,000 (65″)
LG	Rs 14,750 (22″)	Rs 7,00,000 (72″)
Micromax	Rs 15,990 (24″)	Rs 1,29,990 (55″)
Akai	Rs 10,490 (19″)	Rs 69,990 (46″)

 

Micromax LED TV Price List

1. LED24K316 – Rs.15,990 (24 inch LED TV)

2. LEDL31FL24F – Rs.16,990 (24 inch FullHD LED TV)

3. LED32K316 – Rs.25,990 (32 inch HD LED TV)

4. LED42K316 – Rs.47,990 (42 inch Full HD LEDTV)

5. LEDK316K50F – Rs.79,990 (50 inch #D Full HD LED TV)

6. LEDT770K55F – Rs.1,29,990 ( 55 inch 3D Full HD LED TV with Smart TV)

Micromax Home Theater Models & Prices

HT037F1 : Price Rs. 5990

HT089F1: Price Rs. 6990 [Features 5.1 surround sound speakers, 4000-5000 watts PMPO]

Micromax 3D Blu-Ray Player

The Micromax 3G Blu-Ray player is priced at Rs. 6490, which is quite competitive with most of the options available from rivals like Sony and Samsung.