British researchers design a million-chip neural network 1/100 as complex as your brain

If you want some idea of the complexity of the human brain, consider this: a group of British universities plans to link as many as a million ARM processors in order to simulate just a small fraction of it.

 

The resulting model, called SpiNNaker (Spiking Neural Network architecture), will represent less than one percent of a human's gray matter, which contains 100 billion neurons. (Take that, mice brains!) 

Yet even this small scale representation, researchers believe, will yield insight into how the brain functions, perhaps enabling new treatments for cognitive disorders, similar to previous models that increased our understanding of schizophrenia. As these neural networks increase in complexity, they come closer to mimicking human brains -- perhaps even developing the ability to make their own Skynet references.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer says "400 million Windows 7 licenses sold"

So much for not keeping pace, huh? We heard back in June of last year that Microsoft had blown through 150 million Windows 7 licenses, and just a few months later, it had surpassed 240 million.

At this year's Worldwide Partner Conference, head honcho Steve Ballmer took great pleasure in announcing that said figure has now swollen to beyond 400 million in under two years. Not surprisingly, that makes Win7 the fastest-selling operating system in history, and Tami Reller - corporate vice president and chief financial officer of Windows and Windows Live - made clear that it's "the path to Windows 8."

The outfit also announced that 100 million copies of Office 2010 have flown off the shelves since launch, and while no one really came out and said it, we're counting on seeing a Windows 8 build at the BUILD event this fall. Head on past the break for a whole heaping of (deserved) self-congratulations.

Apps And Videos Are Facebook’s Future

Facebook’s deal with Skype shows how partnerships and new apps can rake in billions of dollars for the social network. Its founder Mark Zuckerberg said that monetizing online video takes logical progression. Its new video chat feature threatens the business of wireless voice carriers.

Facebook’s move will lead to other innovations that will lead the way to more useful apps in the near future. The applications of the video chat are limitless. It can be used for marketing, entertainment and communications within the web site.

The challenge for Facebook is to create a system that will generate money around information, entertainment and marketing video. The company tries to change its social sharing ecosystem in order to do so.

Marketers and content providers are looking for ways to earn real money from their digital investments. Zuckerberg said that the last five years were spent connecting people. The next five years will focus on connecting apps that would connect consumers with the marketers through video content and video pitches.

Zuckerberg said that Netflix should increase its video sharing and sales through social apps. It’s not a surprise that Facebook’s CEO used the company as an example. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was recently appointed to the Facebook board.

Google +1 Overtakes Twitter Tweet Button In Social Sharing Integration

Google’s foray into the social media game is yet to reach maturity, but already the tech giant is knocking down opponents and breaking records. One of the key ways that social media players are able to grow is through third party vehicles—specifically independent website owners. The ubiquitous Facebook “like button”, Twitter’s “tweet me” and now Google’s “+1” button are just one of the key things that help grow a social media presence online.

Absolutely everything is measured online these days and so it comes as no surprise that Google’s +1 button has overtaken Twitter’s tweet button on most major websites. According to enterprise SEO platform provider, BrightEdge, the Google +1 button has a 33% jump in integration on the 10,000 most popular websites on the web.

It’s important to note though that despite this surge in integration, the Facebook like button still leads the pack, with over 10% saturation on the top 10,000 websites. It’s not clear right now where the Google +1 button will end up in terms of numbers, but the growth in its use could be an indication of what website owners feel they can get out of it.

A link shared on Twitter doesn’t have the pulling power it once had—bots have put paid to that. A link shared on Facebook (and now Google+) will send real visitors back to your site. And this I suppose is the reason Twitter will be left behind.

Watch the video below to learn more about Google’s +1 button.

10 Reasons Why Android is better than Apple !

When it comes to mobile phones, the iPhone seems to stand strong like a lone warrior against a seemingly endless horde of smartphones. But is it really worth the hype? Of late, there has been an army of formidable Android phones, which can do everything that the iPhone can do, and at times do it even better. As a mobile operating system, Android has matured a lot and is maturing more and has achieved the polished finesse of iOS.

When it comes to a buying decision, here is how I would go about choosing between the iPhone and the Android phones - I would go straight for an Android phone, and here is why.

1. Availability:

Android phones are almost universally available, unlike the iPhone, which is available only at Apple Stores and a select few stores. Also, nearly all Android phones are available almost instantly in India when they are launched worldwide, but the iPhone is available usually after a year, when it is already too old.

2. Network lock:

iPhone has been notorious for usually being sold with a network lock - it works only with one mobile service provider to which it is subscribed, and fails to register a SIM card of another provider. Android phones do not have such restrictions and the users are free to use any network of their choice.

3. Price:

It has become a frustrating annual ritual - a new iPhone is launched, it is priced exorbitantly and is pretty much out of reach for most consumers. Android phones, on the other hand, are a mixed bag as far as price is concerned, as there are so many of them that almost every price segment is covered and you can choose the Android phone that suits your wallet.

4. Widgets:

Unlike the screen of the iPhone that is littered with icons, Android phones have desktops with widgets with an actual purpose, giving you information at the flick of a finger.

As an example, Data Counter widget instantly displays data usage to check your internet usage, while Twitter widget keeps you updated with your Twitter account's status. Take a look at this article to know what I mean.

5. No need for software application on the computer:

iPhone requires you to install iTunes on your computer and sync with it in order to do just about anything on the iPhone, such as transferring applications, music, videos or contacts. Furthermore, you can sync it with only a limited number of computers. Android phones do not need any such application - simply plug the phone into any computer and exercise complete control over your phone.

Data transfer is as easy as drag and drop. On a side note, I deem the SD card expandable memory option in the Android phone to be better than having no memory slot as in the iPhone, because you can carry additional memory cards with you and use when required without worrying about running out of memory.

6. Convenience:

You can instantly switch on or off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Mobile Network or GPS on the Android phone by simply clicking on the provided buttons on the desktop. This goes a long way in conserving battery life. In the iPhone, you have to dig deep into the settings to be able to enable or disable these features.

7. Better web browser:

The web browser on the Android phone is simply amazing. To know what I mean, you have to use and experience it. It is faster than Safari, has every feature that you expect from a web browser, and supports Flash. Being an operating system developed by Google, as expected Google is integrated deep into the heart of Android. Thus, if you want to search Google, simply enter the search button and enter your search string and the results appear swiftly.Of course, the browsing experience varies with the speed of the processor inside the Android phone, which means that you will get the best browsing experience on the more expensive phones. Also, we must mention here that the web browser on the iPhone 4 is supposed to be the best around, but we don't get the iPhone 4 here in India and even if we were to import it, it is too expensive. There is also a Google Voice app for Android.

8. Notification system:

In the iPhone, there is a very limited notification system. For example, if you are a Twitter user, then you need to open the Twitter app to find the updates.

In Android phones, notifications are better organized. These apps can access the notification system of the operating system and alert you on the notification bar to a new email, voice message, and Twitter or Facebook notification, in addition to SMS. The application runs in the background and you do not need to open it to find out the status.

9. Apps from Market:

Just like the App store from Apple, there are thousands of apps for Android available in the Android Market. Just about every iPhone app has an equivalent, which is usually free. The good thing is that you need not sign into your account every time you want to install an app from the Market, even if the app is free. And yes, Market has more liberal censorship laws for Android apps - Google does not play the moral police.

10. Unlimited personalization:

Android phones can be personalized the way you want. Thus, you can make the phone appear the way you want, and behave the way you wish.

Lion Expected to Roar to Life Next Week

Apple will release Lion some time next week, perhaps as soon as July 14, according to reports.

Citing unnamed sources, 9to5Mac and AppleInsider said that Apple retail stores would be prepped next week, most likely for the launch of Mac OS X 10.7, aka Lion, and that memory upgrades were to be installed on in-store display Macs to run the new operating system.

Although 9to5Mac had earlier pegged Lion's debut as July 14 , other Apple-centric websites had claimed they had information that Apple would launch the upgrade this week, on Wednesday, July 6.

That didn't happen.

Apple has said only that it will release Lion this month, but it has not yet specified a date.

Last week, Apple handed off a "gold master," a term that describes a potential final build, to developers. It has not updated the gold master (GM) build since then.

Because developers are still filing bug reports on issues they have found with the GM, Apple may issue a follow-up GM before releasing the OS to the public. During the lead-up to the August 2009 launch of Snow Leopard, for example, Apple delivered more than one GM build to developers.

If Apple hews to the timetable for Snow Leopard, it will announce Lion's availability date several days before the upgrade reaches the Mac App Store, the sole distribution channel for Mac OS X 10.7.

Analysts also believe that the Apple will refresh the MacBook Air line either alongside the Lion launch or shortly after.

That line of lightweight notebooks was last tweaked in October 2010 , when Apple dropped prices, debuted a smaller 11-in. model and replaced traditional hard drives with flash memory-based drives.

According to reports, the refreshed MacBook Air notebooks will use flash memory chips that access data one-and-a-half times faster than the current models' SSD (solid-state drive).

While waiting for Lion, Mac owners can use the time to prepare their computers for the upcoming upgrade.

Youtube Unveils The Cosmic Panda !

One thing is obvious, the people over at Google/Youtube are not resting on their laurels. In what you could call a stunning video coup de tat, Youtube unveiled today a revamped (experimental) design, dubbed “Cosmic Panda”.

The intro page to Cosmic Panda is worded with subtlety, but the redesign itself is anything but subtle. User opinions will differ, but my initial reaction was “wow!”. The new design is slick, bold and modern; it has that “carbon” web 2.0 look and feel and definitely makes you want to stick around. Ofcourse the people at Youtube are always making tweaks here and there. In January of 2010, Youtube unveiled a new “watch page” and of course channel design has its fair share of tweaks over the years too. But Cosmic Panda is truly a step into the ultra-modern era of online video. The player itself is set against a dark background which helps to give focus to the video. Channels have a slicker look, although I did notice that a URL on my channel wasn’t “clickable”.

I am sure it wasn’t intentional (*cough*), but I couldn’t help noticing how much more the ads on videos stand out. They seem to be almost inviting me to click. Like I said, I am sure this very visible benefit to Youtube’s bottom line isn’t intentional. Chicanery aside, Youtube delivers a ton of value for free, so I am sure its users won’t mind.

I am sure there will be lots to see as the feedback data is analysed, I for one am not switching back to the “old” Youtube, this one is too blissful.

If you haven’t seen the new Youtube, watch the video below to see what the fuss is about.

Android 2.3 Hits 32 Inch Multitouch Display

WHOA! Android running on a 32″ or 46″ multi-touch display — Yes please! What we have here is a signage company called SKR Technology and they have developed a sweet prototype multi-touch system running atop Android 2.3 Gingerbread on a 32″ display. Currently it runs off a regular Android terminal which is connected via USB to the touch sensors, HDMI to the display port, and it fully replicates the Android interface and can also display full HD video.

Right off the bat you can see they’ve hit a few things right. The environment and user interface looks great and runs pretty quick, and multi-touch is as smooth as butter on that huge display.

 
Here’s what SKR had to say about their new system.

    Our company makes digital signage, and people were asking us to create a large screen device which has multi-touch functionality like a smartphone. We first tried to make it using Windows 7, but it didn’t meet the needs of our customers. They said they wanted crisp, fluid movement like in a smartphone but with a high resolution display. But when we asked touch panel and peripheral manufacturers they said they don’t support the Android OS, so we were temporarily stalled. We want to do a lot more work with Android in the future, so we decided to develop the system ourselves.

If this has you as excited and interested as me you wont want to miss the video below. The clip shows just how well the integration is and the performance looks to be quite snappy. SKR had to develop their own device driver for Android in order to achieve this large, multi-touch display, and that is what is used in the device shown. It really shows another possible level for Android that we haven’t seen thus far.

With future plans to commercialize other display sizes including a smaller 23 inch variant, and a 46 incher, I have ideas of tossing one of these on the patio or into my coffee table in a few years from now. If this can be produced at a decent price point the commercial appeal for a system like this could possibly be explosive, and I can see SKR doing well with such a system. Hopefully we will see more soon. Check out the video below.

Gmail gets a new look !

A preview of Gmail’s new look by Jason Cornwell,

User Experience Designer 

We get a lot of great feedback on how Gmail helps you be more efficient, keep in touch with family and friends. We’ve saved you from forgetting attachments and made sure that you got the right Bob. Over the years, adding countless features to Gmail has made it an increasingly powerful communication hub, but along the way the interface has also become more cluttered and complex.

That’s one of the reasons we’re embarking on a series of interface updates to help strip out unnecessary clutter and make Gmail as beautiful as it is powerful. This is part of a Google-wide effort to bring you an experience that’s more focused, elastic, and effortless across all of our products. The changes are not going to happen all at once. We know that you love and care about Gmail as much as we do, and we’ll be working on these upgrades gradually over the next few months to allow plenty of time to understand and incorporate your feedback into the evolving design.

We’re kicking things off with two new themes for you to try out as a sort of sneak peek at what we’re up to. Starting today, you’ll see the “Preview” and “Preview (Dense)” themes in the Themes tab in Gmail Settings. Why two themes? Our new interface will eventually expand dynamically to accommodate different screen sizes and user preferences, but until then you can pick the information density that you prefer.

Here’s what one of the new themes currently looks like:

And in conversation view:

If you poke around you’ll hopefully find a lot to like and a much cleaner, modern look but also few rough edges. In particular, some Labs features may look a little strange in the new themes. We plan to fix these issues as we roll out changes in the coming months. You can also expect some updated themes that embody the same design principles but are better suited to working in a dark environment, use a different color palette, or include the illustrations that we know many of you love to see around your inbox.

Look out for these and other new features over the next few months. In the meantime, try out the new themes as a preview of the future of Gmail and let us know what you think.

P.S. Like Gmail, Google Calendar is also getting a new look. You’ll see it automatically within the next few days so there’s no need to turn it on, and we’ll also continue to make improvements there in the coming months. Details about the current changes to Calendar can be found in the Calendar help center.

Google Maps For Android Now Lets You Download Maps For Offline Viewing

No matter which side of the smartphone wars you’ve landed on, it’s hard to deny that Android’s Maps application blows iOS’s out of the water. And this week it’s getting even better.

Yesterday Google highlighted a new feature that’s super handy for anyone who uses above-ground public transportation on a regular basis: turn-by-turn navigation for transit, which helps make sure you never get off at the wrong bus stop. 

And they’ve just pointed out another great addition that I’ve been yearning for for ages. Say hello to offline maps, thanks to a new feature in labs called Download Map Area. To activate the feature, you’ll first have to visit the Labs section of the Maps application, which you can access using the Menu button. Enable the Download Map Area option, and from then on when you browse to a Place page and hit the ‘More’ button, you’ll see an option to locally store a map of the surrounding area.

 

And it’s a big surrounding area — Google will download local copies of the map tiles within a 10 mile radius of that venue. Which means that you can easily download the entirety of SF or Manhattan in a single tap (the download itself took about a minute for me over a Wifi connection). Then, next time you fire up a map but don’t have a data connection, you’ll still be able to pan and zoom around the city all you’d like.

The feature is made possible by the fact that Google Maps on Android uses a vector-based system for displaying map tiles, rather than the older image-based system (which is what the iOS version of Maps still uses). The vector-based tiles use much less data (around 1/100th), which means they are quicker to download and can be stored locally without using too much storage space. Google Maps for Android has actually been caching mapping data automatically for some time now — the difference this ‘download maps’ feature  brings is that it lets users explicitly choose which areas to store locally.

It’s a great start, but it’s still clearly a work in progress. You can’t look up transit maps while you’re offline, and you can’t run search queries for venues and addresses that appear in the map areas you’ve downloaded. But these are pretty obvious features, so hopefully they’re in the pipe.

Assembling A PC – Step-By-Step Guide

What to know how to assemble a desktop computer? Then this video will teach you everything all you want to know. This video will help you to begin from scratch and give step by step instructions so that you can easily understand various components of Pc and how to assemble it.

This video is a for beginner level. And it covers various CPU components and how to assemble them. You can have basic knowledge about the hardware watching this video icon wink [Video]How To Assemble A PC Step By Step Tutorial Hw would have explained everything clearly here.

Topics covered in this tutorial

•     About CPU
•     Types of RAM
•     Hard disk
•     Graphics card details
•     CPU heatsink
•     Optical drives(DVD drives,Floppy drives)
•     Installing CPU
•     Installing Motherboard
•     Installing RAM
•     Installing SMPS
•     Installing Hard disk
•     Installing Optical drives
•     Giving cable connections

I hope this video tutorial will be useful for you. Start assembling a new computer