NASA and Microsoft Provide Mars 3-D Close Encounter

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA and Microsoft Research are bringing Mars to life with new features in the WorldWide Telescope software that provide viewers with a high-resolution 3-D map of the Red Planet.

Microsoft's online virtual telescope explores the universe using images NASA spacecraft return from other worlds. Teams at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., jointly developed the software necessary to make NASA's planetary data available in WorldWide Telescope.

"By providing the Mars dataset to the public on the WorldWide Telescope platform, we are enabling a whole new audience to experience the thrill of space," said Chris C. Kemp, chief technology officer for information technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The fully-interactive images and new NASA data will allow viewers to virtually explore Mars and make their own scientific discoveries. New features include the highest-resolution fully interactive map of Mars ever created, realistic 3-D renderings of the surface of the planet, and video tours with two NASA scientists, James Garvin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Carol Stoker of Ames.

Garvin's tour walks viewers through the geological history of Mars and discusses three possible landing sites for human missions there. Each landing site highlights a different geological era of the planet.

Stoker's tour addresses the question: "Is there life on Mars?" and describes the findings of NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander.

"Our hope is that this inspires the next generation of explorers to continue the scientific discovery process," said Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden.

The Intelligent Robotics Group at Ames Research Center developed open source software that runs on the NASA Nebula cloud computing platform to create and host the high-resolution maps. The maps contain 74,000 images from Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera and more than 13,000 high-resolution images of Mars taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. Each individual HiRISE image contains more than a billion pixels. The complete maps were rendered into image mosaics containing more than half a billion smaller images.

"These incredibly detailed maps will enable the public to better experience and explore Mars," said Michael Broxton, a research scientist in the Intelligent Robotics Group at Ames. "The collaborative relationship between NASA and Microsoft Research was instrumental for creating the software that brings these new Mars images into people's hands, classrooms and living rooms."

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached the planet in 2006 to begin a two-year primary science mission. The mission has returned more data about Mars than all other spacecraft sent to the Red Planet. Mars Global Surveyor began orbiting Mars in 1997. The spacecraft operated longer than any other Mars spacecraft, ceasing operations in November 2006.

"Microsoft has a long-standing relationship with NASA that has enabled us to jointly provide the public with the ability to discover space in a new way," said Tony Hey, corporate vice president of the External Research Division of Microsoft Research.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego provided and operated the Mars Orbiter Camera.

Windows 8

Windows 8, What you see above is a purportedly leaked slideshow that shows off Microsoft’s potential game plan for Windows 8. It was unconceivable a decade plus ago to see Microsoft and Apple being closely related in some aspects, but this leaked roadmap seems to see Microsoft give a strong nod to Apple, highlighting features such as a Windows app store and instant-on bootup. The slides also point to a one-second bootup that reminds you of the iPad’s instant-on capability, and it certainly points toward exciting times ahead when Windows 8 finally rolls out.

Pakistan censors Google, YouTube and Yahoo for their anti-Islam content

Authorities blame online content providers for material that is offensive to Muslims and the Muslim religion. Anti-Islam links are blocked without blocking portals. Eight smaller websites are also attacked. “Google and YouTube are platforms for free expression, and we try to allow as much . . . content as possible on our services and still ensure that we enforce our policies,” Google spokesperson says.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Pakistan has started to monitor the web for its blasphemous content. Internet giants like Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, Bing, Msnm and Hotmail have come under the scrutiny of Pakistani authorities for allowing online material that is offensive to Muslims and the Muslim religion.
Khurram Mehran, a spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, said that under instructions from the Ministry of Information Technology, the Authority began monitoring and barring various sites as of 26 June, following a ruling by a judge in the city of Bahawalpur against YouTube and eight smaller websites deemed anti-Islam.

“If any particular link with offensive content appears on these websites, the (link) shall be blocked immediately without disturbing the main website,” Mehran said.

Pakistan claims that it is monitoring the world wide web for national security reasons and that no major search engine will be censored.

Google spokesman Scott Rubin said the company intends to monitor how Pakistan's new policies affect access to its services, which include the world's most popular search engine and the most widely watched video site, YouTube.

“Google and YouTube are platforms for free expression, and we try to allow as much . . . content as possible on our services and still ensure that we enforce our policies,' Mr Rubin said.

Yahoo! also responded to Pakistan's actions, calling them disappointing. The company is “founded on the principle that access to information can improve people's lives,” a Yahoo! spokeswoman said.

So far, 17 sites deemed anti-Islam and blasphemous have been blocked, including IslamExposed.blogspot.com, a blog created through Google's own Blogger service. The site features postings with headlines such as 'Islam: The Ultimate Hypocrisy' and links to anti-Islam online petitions.

Back in May, a top court put a ban on Facebook amid anger over a webpage that encouraged users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. However, many young Muslim users of the social networking site reacted negatively to the ban, which was lifted after two weeks.

The government and the courts of Pakistan base their decisions on the country’s so-called ‘Blasphemy law’, introduced 25 years ago by then strongman Zia-ul-Haq. The ‘law’ imposes respect for the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur‘an.

The Catholic Church has fought against the law for many years because it victimises Muslims as well as members of religious minorities.

Microsoft Kinect price unveiled

The battle over motion-controlled video gaming has taken another step forward with Microsoft unveiling the price of its Kinect Xbox 360 add-on.

The company has made the system, which plugs into the Xbox 360 console, available for pre-orders on its website for $149 US. The pre-order terms said the Kinect's price could go up or down before its Nov. 4 launch, but the company will honour whichever price is lowest.

Spokespeople for Microsoft Canada could not officially confirm the Kinect's price, but the revelation will likely put to rest speculation about the maximum cost. Industry analysts had suggested the Kinect, which packs sophisticated motion- and voice-recognition technology, could be priced at up to $400.

Microsoft hopes the device, which allows for gaming and movie playback without any sort of controller, will help it expand the Xbox 360's audience beyond core video gamers. The console add-on is to be launched with 15 games, ranging from racing to fitness titles.

The Kinect will compete against Nintendo's Wii, which popularized motion control when it launched in 2006, and Sony's Move controller, launching this fall. Critics have said Microsoft and Sony are playing catch-up to Nintendo, which is winning the battle over the current generation of video game consoles. Nintendo has sold more than 70 million Wii units, compared with Microsoft's 40 million Xbox 360 consoles and Sony's 35 million PlayStation 3 units.

Craig Flannagan, Xbox Canada platform manager, said the Kinect will have an advantage over rivals because it is the only one that doesn't require a controller of any kind. Microsoft has also worked hard at securing the support of third-party developers, something Nintendo has had trouble doing, he said.

"If you look at the innovative experiences we've been able to pull off with Xbox Live [online gaming] and third parties in general, we really expect to have some pretty amazing games and some really great support for this," Flannagan said at media demonstration of Kinect in Toronto on Tuesday (see video at top right). "Those factors are all going to roll in the most robust support you've ever seen for a motion platform."

Some observers have said that a recent slowdown in Wii sales could spell trouble for Microsoft's and Sony's motion-control efforts, while others expect sales to be brisk. Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets, recently predicted Microsoft will sell three million Kinect units by the end of the year.

Microsoft introduced Kinect under the working name Project Natal at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles a year ago. The company announced its official name and release date at last week's E3. Sony announced at E3 that its Move controller would go on sale Sept. 19, starting at $49 US.

Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 is Doomed to Fail

Renamed the Kinect at E3 this week, the product formerly known as Project Natal isn't likely to be much more than a neat gimmick.
Microsoft rolled out Kinect—the peripheral formerly known as Project Natal—this week at E3 in Los Angeles. Videos of the product have surfaced all over the Web, including over at my blog. The device is essentially a mechanism that that lets players become the game controller. I think the pause button is a hard slap to the forehead, but I'm not really sure. Anyway, while the device could forever end childhood obesity, it's doomed for a number of reasons—not the least of which is its Microsoft origins.
First of all, game play is typically a sedentary activity. You typically play games while already pooped out from the day's activities. The last thing you want to do is jump around like some ninny. The device is never going to catch on with the general gaming community for this reason alone. Kinect is also limited by what it can actually do. Serious gamers get into fine control with specialty controllers that can execute elaborate and accurate action. This will never happen with full-body control—it would be too hard to make it work, and no coders will ever put in the effort much past, "it kind of works. Ship it!"
Then there is the big bugaboo: hardwood floors. Unless your house has a slab floor of solid concrete, no one is going to tolerate the room and house shaking that will be produced by this "controller." This relegates the games to the cement floor basement playrooms that are rare in many parts of the country. Live in an apartment? Prepare to be evicted.
Many homes have a second floor where the children's bedrooms are. You can be certain that this device, and the Xbox that uses it, will never find its way to the upstairs bedroom where the house would be shaken to its foundation. You may as well buy the children a drum kit. Even with padded carpeting, this product will be a nuisance to anyone not playing—that will probably be most of the people in the house, since it appears the controller can only handle two people, not a mob.
And while the carpeted floor may dampen the annoying home-wide shaking, the carpet will be beaten to death and deep-rooted dust, mites, and god-knows-what else will be kicked up. You'll need an electrostatic precipitator or high capacity HEPA filtering system in the house if you are going to use this. Of course, Microsoft designed this for families in an environment with no real families: the Microsoft compound in Redmond. People who develop such things are usually single men with no real thought about how such things will go over in a real family environment.
Let me give them a hint. Shout the following as loud as you can, "hey, you're shaking the whole house! Turn that damned thing off and go outside if you want to jump around! Now!" A recording of that plea ought to be included with the product.
That said, I'm sure this device will be fun to pull out at a party. It will also be a great way to monitor calisthenics. It does seem like an amusing way to run in place and do other limited motion exercises. It has to be a natural for non-impact activities, too. The bowling game might be interesting. Tai-Chi fans might find this product ideal as well, though watching a video tape will probably offer the same benefits.
This all seems like Microsoft's answer to the clever Wii controller, with its built-in gyroscopes and accelerometers. But when all is said and done, game consoles were invented with game controllers in mind. The Wiimote is a modernized game controller. The Kinnect is a gimmick, and as gimmicks go, its popularity will be brief, unless the most compelling game in the world arrives built around it. And I do not see that happening.

ایپل دنیا کی سب سے بڑی ٹیکنالوجی کمپنی

ایپل مائیکروسافٹ کو پچھاڑ کر دنیا کی سب سے بڑی ٹیکنالوجی کمپنی بن گئی ہے۔

یہ سنہ 1989 کے بعد پہلا موقع ہے کہ ایپل مائیکروسافٹ سے آگے نکلنے میں کامیاب ہوئی ہے۔

بدھ کو بازارِ حصص میں آنے والی تبدیلیوں کے نتیجے میں ایپل کمپنی کی کل مالیت دو سو بائیس ارب امریکی ڈالر کے مساوی ہوگئی جبکہ سرمایہ کاروں نے مائیکروسافٹ کی حالیہ مالیت دو سو انیس ارب ڈالر لگائی ہے۔

کسی کمپنی کی مالیت جسے مارکیٹ کیپیٹلائزیشن کہا جاتا ہے اس کے تمام حصص کو ان کی قیمت سے ضرب دے کر حاصل کی جاتی ہے۔

بدھ کو بازارِ حصص میں اگرچہ ایپل کے حصص میں اعشاریہ چار فیصد کی کمی ہوئی لیکن اس کے ساتھ ہی مائیکروسافٹ کے حصص بھی چار فیصد کی شرح سے گرے۔

نوے کی دہائی میں مائیکروسافٹ نے انتہائی تیزی سے ترقی کے مدارج طے کیے تھے تاہم اس کے بعد سے اس کی بڑھوتری کی شرح اتنی تیز نہیں رہی ہے۔ تاہم اس کے باوجود آج بھی دنیا کے نوّے فیصد سے زائد ذاتی کمپیوٹرز میں مائیکروسافٹ کے ہی آپریٹنگ نظام نصب ہیں۔

ایپل کمپنی کی مالیت میں اضافہ سنہ 2001 میں کمپنی کی جانب سے آئی پوڈ میوزک پلیئر کی تخلیق کے مرہونِ منت سمجھا جاتا ہے۔ تاہم بعد ازاں آئی فون کی تخلیق بھی کمپنی کی مقبولیت میں اضافے کا سبب بنی ہے۔

ایپل کی دنیا کی سب سے بڑی ٹیکنالوجی کمپنی بننے کی خبر ایک ایسے وقت میں سامنے آئی ہے جب امریکہ کے بعد رواں ہفتے میں ایپل کی تازہ ترین تخلیق آئی پیڈ ٹیبلٹ پی سی کو برطانیہ سمیت آٹھ ممالک میں فروخت کے لیے پیش کیا جا رہا ہے جبکہ آئندہ ماہ ایپل اپنے مشہورِ زمانہ آئی فون کا نیا ماڈل مارکیٹ میں لا رہا ہے۔

Microsoft unveils Office 2010

ISLAMABAD: Microsoft Pakistan on Tuesday announced the next generation of productivity applications, making Pakistani users part of the 90 million existing business customers from all over the world. The announcement was made at a launch ceremony held in Lahore, revealed a press release issued here on Tuesday. The new applications include Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010.

فلیش ٹیکنالوجی استعمال نہیں کر سکتے:اپیل

کمپیوٹر بنانے والی بین الاقوامی کمپنی اپیل کے سربراہ نے ایک کھلے خط میں کمپنی کے اس فیصلے کا دفاع کیا ہے جس کے تحت اپیل کی متعدد مصنوعات میں فلیش ٹیکنالوجی کا استعمال نہیں کیا جائے گا۔

اپیل کے سربراہ سٹیو جوبز کی جانب سے لکھے گئے خط میں کہا گیا ہے کہ فلیش ٹیکنالوجی کے بڑے پیمانے پر انٹرنیٹ پر ویڈیو اور اینیمیشن کے استعمال کی وجہ سے اس کا استعمال آئی پوڈ، آئی فون اور آئی پیڈ میں نہیں کیا جائے گا۔

انھوں نے کہا فلیش پی سی اور میک کے دور کے لیے بنایا گیا تھا لیکن جب اسے ٹچ سکرین اور سمارٹ فون میں استعمال کیا گیا تو اس نے بری کارکردگی کا مظاہرہ کیا۔

اپیل کے سربراہ کی جانب سے یہ دفاعی خط ایک ایسے وقت سامنے آیا ہے جب فلیش کو بنانے والی کمپنی ایڈوب نے اعلان کیا ہے کہ وہ ایسے ٹولز بنانے بند کر دے گا جو جلد ہی ڈپویلپیرز کو اجازت دیتے ہیں کہ وہ اپیل کی مصنوعات پر استعمال کے لیے فلیش کوڈ ٹرانسلیٹ کر لیں۔

اس تبدیلی کی وجہ سے ڈویلپیرز پر آٹومیٹک ٹرانسلیٹ ٹولز بنانے پر پابندی ہو گی اور اب انھیں دو اپلیکیشنز بنانا ہوں گی ایک اپیل کی مصنوعات کے لیے اور ایک دوسری تمام دیگر مصنوعات کے لیے۔

ایک طویل خط میں فلیش کے بارے میں بات کرتے ہوئے ایپل کے سربراہ نے کہا کہ فلیش جدید موبائل فونز کے اس دور کے لیے برا ہے کیونکہ یہ ملٹی ٹچ سکرین نظام کو سپورٹ نہیں کرتا ہے اور موبائل فونز کی بیٹری کو جلد ختم کرنے کا باعث بنتا ہے۔

اس کے علاوہ فلیش میں سکیورٹی مسائل کی وجہ سے یہ میک سسٹم کے کریش ہونے کا سبب بناتا ہے ۔انھوں نے کہا کہ اب فلیش ٹیکنالوجی کے متبادل موجود ہیں خاص طور ویب ویڈیو کے لیے۔

ایڈوب کے چیف ایگزیکٹو نے وال سٹریٹ جرنل کو بتایا کہ اب ڈیویلپیرز کے کام میں اضافہ ہوگا اور انھیں دو دو کام کرنے پر مجبور ہونا ہو گا۔انھوں نے فلیش کی خرابی کی نمایاں کرنے کو اپنی خرابی کو چھپانے کی کوشش کہا ہے۔

ایڈوب کے کے سربراہ کا کہنا ہے کہ اگر فلیش کی وجہ سے اپیل کی مصنوعات کریش کر رہی ہیں تو ایپل کو آپریٹنگ سسٹم کے ساتھ کچھ کرنا پڑے گا۔ انھوں نے اپیل کے سربراہ کے اس بیان کو دلچسپ قرار دیا کہ فلیش ایک کلوز پلیٹ فارم ہے۔

انھوں نے وال سٹریٹ جرنل کے ساتھ بات کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ دنیا کے لیے ان کی مختلف رائے ہیں ہماری رائے ہے کہ دنیا ملٹی پلیٹ فارم ہے۔

ایکسپلورر کی جگہ متبادل براؤزر کی سہولت

مائیکروسافٹ کے اعلان کے مطابق انٹرنیٹ ایکسپلورر ویب براؤزر استعمال کرنے والے لاکھوں یورپی صارفین کو یکم مارچ سے متبادل براؤز کے استعمال کی سہولت میسر ہوگی۔

یہ فیصلہ دسمبر 2009 میں مائیکروسافٹ اور یورپی مسابقتی کمیشن کے درمیان قانونی معاہدے کے بعد کیا گیا ہے۔

اس معاہدے میں مائیکروسافٹ اس بات پر تیار ہوئی ہے کہ وہ اپنے ونڈورز پی سی استعمال کرنے والے صارفین کو انٹرنیٹ ایکسپلورر کو بطور ڈیفالٹ ویب براؤزر استعمال کرنے کی بجائے ان کی مرضی کا براؤزر انسٹال کرنے کی اجازت دے گی۔

اعدادوشمار کے مطابق دنیا میں انٹرنیٹ استعمال کرنے والے افراد میں سے نصف سے زائد انٹرنیٹ ایکسپلورر استعمال کرتے ہیں۔

مائیکرو سافٹ کے اس متبادل براؤزر کی اجازت کے اپ ڈیٹ کا تجربہ برطانیہ، بیلجیئم اور فرانس میں شروع ہو چکا ہے اور ادارے کے نائب صدر ڈیو ہائنر کے بلاگ کے مطابق ونڈوز ایکس پی، وسٹا اور سیون استعمال کرنے والے صارفین کو یہ اپ ڈیٹ خودبخود موصول ہوجائے گی۔

بلاگ کے مطابق اس اپ ڈیٹ میں صارف کو ایک چوائس سکرین دکھائی جائے گی جس کی مدد سے وہ اپنی پسند کا براؤزر چن سکے گا۔ دیگر براؤزر کی فہرست میں گوگل کا کروم، موزیلا کا فائرفوکس، سفاری اور اوپرا نامی براؤزر شامل ہیں۔

بی بی سی کے نامہ نگار برائے ٹیکنالوجی روری کیلن جونز کا کہنا ہے کہ ’لاکھوں افراد جنہوں نے پہلے کبھی یہ سوچا بھی نہیں تھا کہ وہ کونسا براؤزر استعمال کرتے ہیں اب انہیں ایک براؤزر چننا پڑے گا اور اس سے مائیکروسافٹ کے مسابقتی اداروں کو مارکیٹنگ کا نادر موقع ملے گا‘۔