Nearest alien planet named 'Albertus Alauda'

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New York: The closest known Earth-size alien planet beyond our solar system has a new unofficial name – Albertus Alauda – selected by popular choice in an online contest.

The name won the online people’s choice contest organised by space-funding company Uwingu to choose a more exciting, approachable name for the alien planet Alpha Centauri Bb, a scorching-hot world that lies just 4.3 light-years away.

Jay Lark, who nominated “Albertus Alauda,” said he chose the exoplanet name to honour his late grandfather.

“It is his name in Latin (Albert Lark),” Jay Lark wrote in his submission to the contest.

“My grandfather passed away after a lengthy and valiant battle with cancer; his name in Latin means noble or bright and to praise or extol. I think this is an apt description as my grandfather was a noble man and bright of character, and in this nomination I wish to honour (extol) him,” he wrote.

The Alpha Centauri Bb naming contest ran from March 19 through April 22. Proposing a name cost USD 4.99, while voting for one cost USD 0.99.

Uwingu will use the proceeds to fund grants in space exploration, education and research, which is the company’s chief purpose, officials said.

“Albertus Alauda” came out on top with 751 votes, while “Rakhat” and “Caleo” came in second and third place, garnering 684 and 622 votes, respectively.

The contest found its way into the headlines two weeks ago, after the International Astronomical Union issued a press release stressing its authority as the sole arbiter of the exoplanet-naming process and reminding readers that it’s impossible to buy an “official” name.

While Uwingu wasn’t mentioned by name, the release seemed aimed at the Alpha Centauri Bb competition, the website reported.

Stern and other Uwingu officials fought back, saying the company had always maintained that the contest aimed to pick a popular or common name, not an “official” IAU one.

The Alpha Centauri Bb contest, and Uwingu’s related “Baby Planet Name Book,” are meant to get people excited about science and astronomy while also raising money for research and education, said Stern, who also leads NASA’s New Horizons mission, which will fly by Pluto in 2015.

Samsung Galaxy S4 launched in India at a Price of Rs.41,500

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Samsung today launched the much awaited Galaxy S4 android smartphone in India at an event here in Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon. This 5 inch full HD flagship device from Samsung which will go on sale starting tomorrow April 27th, is priced at Rs. 41,500. As expected, the 1.6 GHz Octa-core variant of the Galaxy S4 will be made available for the Indian market. The device will first go on sale in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore tomorrow and all over India after that. It comes bundled with a Vodafone offer, unlimited 3G internet with FUP, 3000 minutes worth of local and STD voice calls, 750 local and national messages. Currently launched is the variant with 16 GB of internal storage.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the fourth revision of the Galaxy S series of flagship smartphones from Samsung starting with the Galaxy S. Ever since the first Galaxy, Samsung has been seeing major success in the worldwide market with them selling millions and millions of Galaxy S devices, with the S3 topping the charts for obvious reasons. Like the S3, the S4 is also expected to be a sales blockbuster and has all the ingredients featuring top notch specifications on paper, just like you’d expect from a Samsung flagship. The device launched in New York on March 15th and it has finally landed here, in India.

Here is a quick recap of the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S4 -

• 5-inch Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display at 441ppi


• 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor


• Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)


• 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, Zero Shutter Lag, BSI and Full HD video recording


• 2MP front-facing camera


• 7.9 mm thick and weighs 130 grams


• 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory,  expandable up to 64GB with microSD


• Infrared LED for smart TV remote


• 4G LTE LTE Cat 3 100/50Mbps) / 3G (HSPA+ 42 Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and a/c, Bluetooth v 4.0, MHL 2.0, GPS/GLONASS and NFC


• 2600 mAh Battery

If you want to know more about the device, you can check out our detailed walkthrough of all the important features of the Galaxy S4 here.

Aarushi Talwar murder case: father Rajesh hit her by mistake, says CBI

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The CBI today said that dentist Rajesh Talwar had found his daughter and his domestic help in “objectionable position” and killed them using his golf stick and a sharp-edged weapon.

Deposing during cross-examination in a special court in Ghaziabad, CBI Additional SP AGL Kaul, who led the second probe team, spoke of the motive behind the sensational double murder of 14-year old Aarushi and Hemraj at the Noida residence of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar on the intervening night of May 15-16, 2008.

SP Kaul said according to his investigation Rajesh Talwar was awake in his room at 12 midnight. The time of murders, according to the post-mortem report, is between 12-1 AM.

The officer claimed that according to his probe Hemraj was attacked in Aarushi’s room on her bed, taken to the roof, and dragged to a corner where his throat was slit.

Explaining the sequence of events which took place on the fateful night, SP Kaul said Rajesh heard some noise and went to Hemraj’s room but did not find him there.

“There were two golf sticks lying in Hemraj’s room one of which Rajesh Talwar picked up. He heard a noise from Aarushi’s room. The door of the room was not locked and was just shut. He opened the door and found Aarushi and Hemraj in objectionable position on Aarushi’s bed,” SP Kaul said in his testimony.

Rajesh Talwar hit on Hemraj’s head with a golf stick. When he struck again, Hemraj moved his head and the stick hit Aarushi on her forehead.

He said when golf sticks were seized, their heads were not sealed separately.

“The V or U shaped injury on Aarushi’s forehead could have been caused by the use of golf stick head,” he said.

The officer said the noise generated in the process woke Nupur Talwar who rushed to Aarushi’s room.

“By that time the injured Hemraj had fallen from the bed. Both checked Aarushi’s pulse and found her near-dead which scared them and they decided to kill Hemraj so no one discovers the incident,” SP Kaul said before the court.

He said, the husband and wife decided to hide Hemraj’s body and dispose it when they had an opportunity to do so.

The duo wrapped Hemraj’s body in a bed-sheet and dragged him to terrace where they slit his throat, covering the body with a cooler panel, SP Kaul said.

He said after coming to the room, they dressed up the crime scene by arranging the bedsheet and toys.

They slit Aarushi’s throat, to ensure that wounds on Hemraj and their daughter looked similar, and Nupur cleaned Aarushi’s private parts, he said.

Giving details of his findings, the officer said the dentist couple cleaned blood stains, disturbed the router, collected all the clothes which were used to clean blood and also the small sharp edged weapon used in the killing with an intention to dispose them off.

“They cleaned the golf stick which was used in the murder and hid it in the loft of Aarushi’s bedroom. They locked the door of Aarushi’s room from outside. They locked the outermost door from inside and wooden door from outside and entered the flat through Hemraj’s room, the door of which opened between these two entry door,” he said.

Both waited for their maid Bharti to come while Rajesh drank liquor. The officer said once Bharti came, Nupur asked for Hemraj as the wooden door was locked by them from outside.

“She threw the key towards Bharti from balcony, which can be approached from the backside of Aarushi’s room. When Bharti came up she found the Talwars crying,” he said.

On being questioned by defence about forensic reports that Hemraj’s DNA was found from a purple pillow recovered from the residence of Krishna, who was a suspect in the initial probe done by CBI, SP Kaul said that was the result of a typing error in the CFSL report.

“I cannot give any specific reason which made me believe that there was a typing error in the report. It is wrong to say that I am intentionally not telling the reasons on the basis of which I deduced that there was a typing error in the report,” SP Kaul said.

He said he had written to Director, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), which conducted DNA test, seeking explanation for the alleged error.

“I had written that I feel that description of purple coloured pillow cover recovered from Krishna’s room and pillow recovered from Hemraj were inter-changed,” he said.

Samsung’s new Group Play feature

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As we start to see more features of the Galaxy S4, it looks like this thing is going to be a pretty devastating device. It’s fast, slim, and has a ton of great features! One of the coolest new aspects may just be Group Play, a feature that allows you to share files with other devices in the same group.

Essentially, you create a ‘group’ with one device, and that device then acts as the group leader, so to speak. That lead device can be used to control what is shared, which can be just about anything. The menu in the video below shows documents, music, games, and pictures/video. If you have a group of friends, all with a device capable of the feature, this can also be used to create a surround sound experience. Each phone can also be defined for a specific role. As you see in the video when a song is played, the lead device says “left speaker”. That device can also act as the equalizer for all others, and even control the volume.

Group Play is only available on the S4 right now, but Samsung is working on bringing it to other devices as well. Unfortunately, this is another example of great innovation that is only available on Samsung devices. Well, unfortunate for people who aren’t interested in their products. If they keep this type of thing up, that number will continue to dwindle.

Psy's Gentleman banned in South Korea

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Korean pop star Psy’s latest single Gentleman has made him a global star, but in his native South Korea the video has been banned by the officials.

The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), a major broadcaster in the country, has reportedly banned the new music video as the rapper is shown abusing public property, reports contactmusic.com.

KBS said that the scene doesn’t meet its standards as a public broadcaster. It has apparently banned other videos in the past for similar reasons.

It’s unlikely that the banning will stop Psy from being a success elsewhere as the video has already got 139 million hits on YouTube since its release last week.

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf flees court after bail is cancelled

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Islamabad: Former Pakistani President Parvez Musharraf left a court in Islamabad quickly today to avoid being arrested after his arrest was ordered.

Mr Musharraf’s personal security quickly escorted him away in his bullet-proof black SUV to an unknown location, according to local media.

The Islamabad High Court ordered the arrest of the former military ruler for sacking judges when in power in 2007.

The former army chief returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest a May 11 general election, despite the possibility of arrest on various charges and death threats from the Pakistani Taliban.

Microsoft's Xbox team testing smartwatch prototypes with a Surface connector

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Microsoft is prototyping its own wrist-worn device. A reliable source familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans has revealed to The Verge that the company has been developing a wrist-worn device for just over a year. We understand that Microsoft had originally planned to release a “Joule” heart rate monitor accessory for the Xbox, but the company has since decided to focus on a smartwatch instead. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Microsoft’s plans earlier this week, citing unnamed supply chain sources who claim Microsoft has requested 1.5-inch displays from component manufacturers.

Microsoft’s smartwatch is said to be in the prototype phase, with teams who have worked on Xbox accessories and the Kinect sensor focused on the device. We’re told it features removable bands attached to a 1.5-inch touch display. One prototype includes the same magnetic power connector that Microsoft uses on its Surface tablets. The MagSafe-like connector is made up of five pins and can transmit both power and data, but we’re told this is only a prototype and a final design may omit the connector.

Familiar territory if Microsoft proceeds with a new smartwatch

Microsoft previously fielded a range of smartwatches back in 2004 under the SPOT brand. The devices used FM radio signals to obtain news, weather forecasts, and stock information. Microsoft discontinued the devices in 2008, shuttering the service fully last year. Microsoft’s Bill Buxton recently outlined the 37-year history of smartwatches at a talk during the company’s TechFest research event. At the time, we speculated Microsoft may re-enter a market it tried to kickstart years ago, and it looks like that may soon be a reality.

Google Celebrates Anniversary of the First Indian Passenger Train

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It was exactly 160 years back, that the first passenger train ran from Mumbai to Thane. On 16th April, 1853 the first passenger locomotive was run from then Bori Bunder in South Bombay to Thane.

The foundation for railways in India was laid much before the first passenger train was run. The plan for a rail line in India was first proposed in 1832 and by 1836, the first rail line was set up in India near Chintadripet Bridge in Madras Presidency (presently in Chennai). The line was a purely experimental line and post its success, a 5.6km long railway line was set up the next year between Red Hills and St. Mount Thomas in Chennai.

It was in 1844 that then Governor-General of India, Lord Hardinge decided to allow private investors to set up an elaborate rail network in India. However, the companies would be allowed to run railways on a lease with the Government having the authority to buy them much before the stipulated lease ended.

After using railways for transport and commercial purposes for nearly 2 decades, in 1853 two new companies were set up to explore the possibility of passenger railways. While the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) set up the experimental line in Mumbai between Mumbai and Thane, East Indian Railway (EIR) set sights on bringing the now-beloved train to Kolkata (then Calcutta). Covering a distance of 34 KM, the first passenger train was hauled by three locomotives: Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan in Mumbai.

Post the inauguration of the first locomotive between Mumbai and Thane, the first passenger line of North India was inaugurated between Allahabad and Kanpur. However, this line came much after the Bombay line on March 3rd, 1859.

NASA to make water on Moon?

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NASA is developing a Moon rover to find how water can be produced on the lunar surface by analysing liquid droplets trapped in deep freezes at its poles.

WASHINGTON: NASA is developing a Moon rover to find how water can be produced on the lunar surface by analyzing liquid droplets trapped in deep freezes at its poles.

Scheduled to fly in November 2017 the mission, called Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction ( RESOLVE), will have a week’s time to accomplish its goals.

Mission managers are planning to use solar energy to power the rover’s systems and science instruments for the $ 250 million project which includes a rocket ride to the Moon.

However, sunlight in the areas where water and other volatiles may be trapped only occurs for a few days at a time, the ‘Discovery News’ reported.

As the rover lands on the Moon, it would have about 2.5 days of sunlight to get started searching for hydrogen, then hibernate for two days of shadow.

For the next five days of sunlight, the rover would drill about a meter deep into the lunar surface to extract a sample for mineral analysis.

The sample would be heated with a hope to produce liquid water. The rover would then finally demonstrate how oxygen can be chemically pulled out from the lunar soil and mixed with hydrogen to produce water.

“The primary mission is lunar ice prospecting, but since we’re there and since we don’t know if we’ll find water, we wanted to also demonstrate that we can extract oxygen from the lunar soil,” Larson said.

“That is the most challenging time-line of any surface mobility mission NASA has ever attempted before – and we’re trying to do it on the cheap,” he added.

The project builds upon the ongoing Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mapping mission and the 2009 impacts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft and rocket motor into a permanently shadowed crater called Cabeus, located near the Moon’s south pole.

Material blasted above the crater’s rim during the impacts and other analysis showed it contains about 5 per cent frozen water, the report said.

The origin of the water on the Moon, however, remains a mystery.

Tamil Nadu train accident: 11 coaches of passenger train derail near Arakkonam; 1 dead, 50 injured

Chennai: Eleven coaches of a passenger train derailed in Tamil Nadu this morning killing at least one person and injuring 50 others. Six of these 50 people have suffered serious injuries.

The Muzaffarpur-Yeswantpur Express train derailed around 6 am in Sitteri near Arakkonam, 100 kms from Chennai.

The exact cause of the accident was not immediately known. Top officials of the Railways visited the spot and commenced an initial probe to find out what caused the derailment.

Railway officials said rescue teams were immediately rushed to the accident site and those injured were admitted to a nearby government hospital.

The accident also disrupted rail traffic on the Arakkonam sector. Several trains coming from Chennai including the Kovai Express, the Duronto Express, the Bangalore Express and the Brindvan Express were cancelled and many others were diverted.

Sources in the Railways said normal services were expected to resume by the evening.

In 2011, nine people were killed when two trains collided with each other at the Sitteri station.

Help line Nos: 080-22876288; 080-22203269; 080-22876410; 080-22156190

Tamil Nadu train accident: 11 coaches of passenger train derail near Arakkonam; 1 dead, 50 injured

Google reportedly in talks to buy WhatsApp for $1 billion

Google is reportedly in talks to buy messaging app WhatsApp. As per Digital Trends, the two companies are currently negotiating the deal price and this could be Google’s next billion dollar acquisition.(Update: WhatsApp denies Google acquisition rumours)

The website also claims that Google and WhatsApp have been in talks for over five weeks now. Furthermore, the report claims that WhatsApp is trying to play hard to get and is trying to command a higher price from Google for this deal.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that reports of Google trying to woo WhatsApp have surfaced. Google was said to have been in talks to acquire WhatsApp in December last year too but the two companies had parted ways without signing on the dotted line. If Google is able to pull off the buyout this time around, it will get a significant boost for the mobile messaging space.

Though Google does has the resources to build a cross-mobile messaging app from scratch, some believe it might be too late for the search engine giant to enter into this space. Hence, the acquisition makes a lot of sense.

Additionally, Google is also rumoured to be working on a unified communication platform Babel. The combination of WhatsApp and Babel will give Google a competitive advantage in this space.

WhatsApp is a cross platform messaging app. As of now this application is free for download on platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, Nokia and Windows Phone. WhatsApp has recently released a client for the BlackBerry 10 operating system. The company is also planning to launch an app for dual-SIM Asha smartphones by the second quarter of this year.

In the recent past, there have been news reports that suggest WhatsApp will be bracing subscription-based model for iOS by the end of 2013

It is being touted that 17 billion messages (7 billion inbound and 10 billion outbound) are transmitted daily through WhatsApp. What’s more WhatsApp has been downloaded by over 100 million Android users alone since its debut.

In the past, there have also been rumours indicating that Facebook is in talks to acquire WhatsApp. However, the social networking giant had denied these rumours.

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Google reportedly in talks to buy WhatsApp for $1 billion