ASI, Google unveil 360-degree online view of 30 monuments

New Delhi: The iconic Taj Mahal is among 30 Indian monuments which can now be "visited" online with a 360-degree panoramic view, thanks to a novel initiative.

 Iconic Taj Mahal is among 30 Indian monuments

Google and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Thursday jointly launched 360-degree panoramic imagery of 30 out of 100 "nationally-important monuments" including Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Jantar Mantar and Qutub Minar among others, viewable to one-third of the world's population.
  
"This is one of the most exciting things that Google has done. Imagine the iconic Taj Mahal, now being accessible to not just over 20 crore Indians on the web but about one-third of the world population, without even having to go there," Managing Director of Google India, Rajan Anandan told reporters.
  
Union Minister of Culture Chandresh Kumari Katoch launched the project at an event organised at the historic Safdarjung Tomb.
  
"Today, we are going to bring our heritage to the doorstep of every person... This project has brought our culture, our heritage, history closer to the people of India, the partnership of Google and ASI has brought Indian heritage online," Katoch said.
  
The search engine giant and the Ministry of Culture had signed a memorandum at the Qutub Minar complex last October, following which the company created a "virtual walkthrough" application using its 'Street View Trekker' technology for the first time in India.
  
"At Google, we love cultural heritage, and this project brings these monuments literally to people's doorsteps," Anandan said.

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Tesla CEO reportedly confirms meeting with Apple but declines to confirm acquisition talk

 

 

Tesla Motors Inc has had “conversations” with Apple Inc, Chief Executive Elon Musk confirmed to Bloomberg TV, but he would not comment on whether those talks revolved around acquisitions, reports Reuters.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that Musk met with Apple Inc’s head of mergers and acquisitions in 2013, stoking speculation about Tesla’s future.  But speaking generally about the possibility of another company buying Tesla, Musk said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that he had concerns.

Rumors have been swirling since news broke this week of a possible meeting between Apple’s top executive for acquisitions and the CEO of electric car maker Tesla.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday that the meeting between Adrian Perica and Elon Musk took place last spring. The companies haven’t commented on the report. With $158.8 billion in cash on its balance sheet, Apple certainly has the money to

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HTC set to roll out three wearables including Google Now smartwatch

Washington, Feb. 21 (ANI): HTC is reportedly set to launch three wearable devices at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, including a rumoured Google Now smartwatch.
The Taiwanese manufacturer would introduce a HTC smartwatch, based on Qualcomm's Toq smartwatch and use that company's Mirasol display, featuring Bluetooth connectivity and a music player, apart from an electronic bracelet that plays music.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Gold variant tipped ahead of MWC 2014 unveiling

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It seems like there is no end to the leaks related to Samsung's 2014 flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, ahead of its official announcement.A new leak tips that Samsung will also be introducing the Gold variant of its much-anticipated Galaxy S5 smartphone at the Barcelona event, scheduled on 24 February 2014.
The leak comes via GSMArena who received a purported image of Vodafone's inventory system, which shows a Samsung Galaxy S5 Gold smartphone listed alongside other devices like Apple iPhone 5s and HTC One. As of now, the alleged image of Vodafone's inventory system did not reveal many details about the rumoured Galaxy S5 Gold.
Notably, Samsung is famous for launching a number of variants of its flagship devices. The 2013 flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4, had a number of variants, namely: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S4 Zoom, and Galaxy S4 Mini. A Gold colour variant of the Galaxy S4 was also launched quite a bit after the device's global unveiling. However, it seems that the South Korean major might announce the Galaxy S5 in Gold option right at the global launch.

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The Surprising Best Thing about Google Fiber Coming to Your Town

 

A Google Fiber technician gets supplies out of his truck to install Google Fiber in a residential home in Provo, Utah, January 2, 2014. Provo is one of three cities Google is currently building gigabit internet and television service for business and residential use.

Sure, Internet speeds are faster, and the base-level Google Fiber service is cheaper than typical Internet providers. But what might truly set Google Fiber apart from the pack is that the customer service doesn’t suck.
This week, Google announced that it is looking at expanding Google Fiber, its ultrafast broadband Internet service, to nine more U.S. cities. The service, which costs customers $70 per month for 1-gigabit Internet—estimated at 100 times faster than the average U.S. connection—or $0 per month (after a $300 installation fee), is already operational in Kansas City, and has been approved and is in progress in Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah. Now Google is exploring the possibility of bringing Google Fiber to Atlanta,

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BlackBerry shares set to jump on Facebook's WhatsApp bid

A man walks by a Blackberry sign at the Blackberry campus in Waterloo, September 23, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Mark Blinch

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc's $19 billion bid for fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp sent shares of BlackBerry Ltd higher before the opening bell on Thursday as investors placed bets that the smartphone maker's own messaging platform has been undervalued.
BlackBerry shares were up as much as 9 percent in trading after the bell on Wednesday as the deal boosts valuation metrics around the company's own BlackBerry Messaging service.
BlackBerry Messaging, or BBM, was a pioneering mobile-messaging service, but its user base has failed to keep pace with that of WhatsApp and other upstarts, in part because BlackBerry had long refused to open the service to users on other platforms.
WhatsApp, with a user base of about 450 million, has grown rapidly. Its service works on Apple Inc's iOS platform, Google Inc's market-dominating Android operating system and with devices powered by both the Windows and BlackBerry operating systems.

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San Antonio Selected As Potential Google Fiber Network Site

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Mark Strama, Head of Google Fiber in Austin, stands with city leaders at the initial announcement of Fiber

Credit Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio

Google Fiber has selected San Antonio as one of nine metro areas to potentially receive its super fast internet connection.
With the ability to download 1 gigabyte per second, it’s already 100 times faster than what’s available for most homes in San Antonio. Google and the city announced that plans to bring Google Fiber to the Alamo city are in motion.

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Microsoft announces a media remote for the Xbox One

Microsoft announced a Media Remote for the Xbox One on Thursday, with a worldwide release set for early March.

For those who aren't keen on waving their hands in front of their TV or barking commands at a black box, Microsoft has an alternative, a dedicated Xbox One Media Remote.
Microsoft said in a blog post on Thursday, "For Xbox One owners who want to control their TV and entertainment at the touch of a button via a familiar remote - we introduce you to the Xbox One Media Remote."

The remote will allow Xbox One owners to navigate around the console's interface and is designed for those who do more than play games on the console.
Microsoft explained, "The Xbox One Media Remote lets you control video playback for Blu-ray movies and streaming video on Xbox One.

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Kickstarter customers’ passwords taken in data breach

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By Andrew Dowell

Crowdfunding site Kickstarter Inc. said some customer data have been accessed in a computer attack.

The company, which has set up an exchange in which people can contribute often small amounts of money to fund projects such as the documentary “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” or the Pebble smartwatch, said in a blog post Saturday and emails to users that no credit-card data was compromised.

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How to blow $1.5 million in two weeks

If you have $1.5 Million lying around and not sure what to spend it on, try a $100-plus-a-day vacation on board a private plane. (Photo: Getty Images)

The data accessed included user names, encrypted passwords, email and mailing addresses and phone numbers, Chief Executive Yancey Strickler said in the post

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IBM commits $1.2bn to cloud data centre expansion

IBM chief executive Virginia Rometty wants to expand her company's cloud services business

Continue reading the main story

IBM, the global computing giant, has said it is investing more than $1.2bn (£735m) expanding its data centres and cloud storage business.

It plans to build 15 new centres around the world, bringing the total number up to 40 during 2014.
IBM bought cloud services company SoftLayer for $2bn last year, and this investment will double the subsidiary's storage capacity, the company said.
IBM believes the cloud services market could be worth $200bn by 2020.
Businesses are increasingly leasing data storage, computing power and web hosting services from a growing number of specialist cloud companies - effectively outsourcing their IT needs to cut costs and improve efficiency.
IBM says it has added 2,400 new clients since it acquired Dallas-based SoftLayer.

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IBM commits $1.2bn to cloud data centre expansion

IBM chief executive Virginia Rometty wants to expand her company's cloud services business

Continue reading the main story

IBM, the global computing giant, has said it is investing more than $1.2bn (£735m) expanding its data centres and cloud storage business.

It plans to build 15 new centres around the world, bringing the total number up to 40 during 2014.
IBM bought cloud services company SoftLayer for $2bn last year, and this investment will double the subsidiary's storage capacity, the company said.
IBM believes the cloud services market could be worth $200bn by 2020.
Businesses are increasingly leasing data storage, computing power and web hosting services from a growing number of specialist cloud companies - effectively outsourcing their IT needs to cut costs and improve efficiency.
IBM says it has added 2,400 new clients since it acquired Dallas-based SoftLayer.

Read More

IBM commits $1.2bn to cloud data centre expansion

IBM chief executive Virginia Rometty wants to expand her company's cloud services business

Continue reading the main story

IBM, the global computing giant, has said it is investing more than $1.2bn (£735m) expanding its data centres and cloud storage business.

It plans to build 15 new centres around the world, bringing the total number up to 40 during 2014.
IBM bought cloud services company SoftLayer for $2bn last year, and this investment will double the subsidiary's storage capacity, the company said.
IBM believes the cloud services market could be worth $200bn by 2020.
Businesses are increasingly leasing data storage, computing power and web hosting services from a growing number of specialist cloud companies - effectively outsourcing their IT needs to cut costs and improve efficiency.
IBM says it has added 2,400 new clients since it acquired Dallas-based SoftLayer.

Read More

IBM commits $1.2bn to cloud data centre expansion

IBM chief executive Virginia Rometty wants to expand her company's cloud services business

Continue reading the main story

IBM, the global computing giant, has said it is investing more than $1.2bn (£735m) expanding its data centres and cloud storage business.

It plans to build 15 new centres around the world, bringing the total number up to 40 during 2014.
IBM bought cloud services company SoftLayer for $2bn last year, and this investment will double the subsidiary's storage capacity, the company said.
IBM believes the cloud services market could be worth $200bn by 2020.
Businesses are increasingly leasing data storage, computing power and web hosting services from a growing number of specialist cloud companies - effectively outsourcing their IT needs to cut costs and improve efficiency.
IBM says it has added 2,400 new clients since it acquired Dallas-based SoftLayer.

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Need a Refund for In-App Purchases on Your iPhone? Apple Owes You Money, Says FTC

For years, parents all over have used one of Apple's mobile devices, whether it's an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, as a means of both entertaining and educating their children. Never has it been easier to find a piece of family-friendly content when you're on the move, and the App Store has provided millions of adults with quick access to learning games, coloring books, read-along content, and more.
Many of those games, books, shows, etc., have been available entirely for free. There's been a dark side to that availability, however, as parents soon discovered that their children had rung up huge bills - sometimes over $100 - within minutes of having access to the device.
It's easy to lay blame at the feet of the parents, who, some say, should keep a better eye on what their children are doing. According to the FCC, though, the real blame lies solely with Apple and its confusing and obfuscated billing practices.
For many users, tapping in their password is an easy and obvious thing to do when a child wants access to additional content in a game or book. Many of these applications sell content piecemeal, and for a few bucks here or there, families can unlock hours of additional entertainment.
What is not at all obvious, says the FTC, is the way Apple unlocks further in-app purchases: once a single in-app purchase is made, and a pasword entered, any further in-app purchases, for the following fifteen minutes, don't require additional password entries

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Overfishing 'Domino Effect' Could Affect More Species Than We Expect; Will We Reach The Tipping Point?

A loss of anchovies and sardines caused a number of other species to decline in population. (Photo : Reuters)

Researchers warned of a "domino effect" related to overfishing.
If too many fish of a certain species are harvested from a specific area it could affect other animals in the ecosystem more dramatically than many would expect, a Florida State University news release reported.
"You don't realize how interdependent species are until it all unravels," Felicia Coleman, director of the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory and a co-author on the study said in the news release.

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The researchers looked at marine ecosystems that had been severely distressed in the past.
In the Northern Benguela ecosystem off Namibia during the 1970s the sardine and anchovy populations were almost wiped out as a result of overfishing; the species was replaced by hoards of bearded goby and jellyfish. The population replacement turned out to be bad news for local predators such as "penguins,

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Ecobank Whistle-blowing Director Resigns

Ecobank Whistle-blowing Director Resigns

Ecobank logo

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has revealed that its Group Executive Director of Risk and Finance, Laurence do Rego who reported senior management of the bank to Nigerian regulators over alleged fraud has left the company.

Do Rego “is no longer an employee of the company,” Bloomberg quoted the bank to have said in an e-mail.
The spokesman for Ecobank in Lome, Mwambu Wanendeya couldn’t immediately comment further on do Rego’s departure.

Do Rego joined Ecobank, Africa’s most geographically diverse lender, in 2002 and was appointed to her position in January 2010 after serving as chief financial officer from 2005 to 2009, according to the company’s website. An accountant by training, she also worked for 15 years in Europe.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Ecobank after do Rego told the regulator in August that the bank’s former Chairman, Mr. Kolapo Lawson and Chief Executive Officer, Thierry Tanoh planned to sell assets below market value.

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Prairie dogs do 'Mexican wave' to keep others alert

A new Canadian study revealed that black-tailed prairie dogs have an unusual method of alerting their friends of danger — a Mexican wave, or "jump-yip."

Researchers at the University of Manitoba described the contagious behaviour as "testing the emergency broadcast system." As soon as one prairie dog does the wave, others in its pack do the same, seemingly to verify that they're paying attention and that there is no danger. Initially, the team thought the wave was a sign of no immediate threat. "The conventional wisdom is that it's an 'all clear' signal," Jim Hare, the study's lead researcher, told BBC News. However, when Hare noticed that the "jump-yip" also happened in front of potential predators, the team investigated further, Mirror News reported. The signal was found to be similar

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Jim Byers' Travel Blog

Jim Byers' Travel Blog

Get travel news & updates for everyone from high-rollers looking for the next French Riviera to budget-minded folks hoping for a bargain in southern Ontario or Canada.

Life / Jim Byers' Travel Blog / Fall of Canadian dollar makes your winter vacation that much more expensive. But it's good news for Canada tourism.

Fri Jan 10 2014 Posted by Jim Byers, Travel at 06:56 AM

Fall of Canadian dollar makes your winter vacation that much more expensive. But it's good news for Canada tourism.

The falling Canada dollar could hurt folks planning a winter or March Break getaway to the U.S. But it also means Americans get more value out of a visit to Canada.

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Meet 'Toothless' the 3D dragon

Australia's national science agency has issued a rare apology to a seven-year-old girl for not being able to make her a fire-breathing dragon, only a 3D printed toy, blaming a lack of research into the mythical creatures.

The youngster, Sophie, wrote to a "Lovely Scientist" at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), politely asking whether they could make her a winged pet of her own.

"I would call it Toothless if it was a girl and if it is a boy I would name it Stuart," she wrote in her letter, promising to feed it raw fish and play with it when she wasn't at school.

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Channel Tunnel Will Offer Freight and Passenger Traffic Complete Wireless Communications

UK – FRANCE – It’s official, you cannot get away from a mobile phone signal these days even if you choose to travel beneath the waves. Having agreed terms with French mobile operators, Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR to provide GSM-P services in the South Running Tunnel in 2012, travellers will from March be able to connect to services in the North Tunnel (UK to France) when using Eurotunnel's freight or passenger services.
Eurotunnel and the British mobile telephone operators EE (formed following the merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK) and Vodafone have today signed a 10 year agreement to offer 2G and 3G services with the intention to extend to 4G data services throughout the tunnel in the future. This will enable passengers of both Le Shuttle and high speed passenger trains to use their mobile phone or tablet device at any point of the journey through the Channel Tunnel. The partners insist that the quality of communication will be equivalent to a call made in Paris, London or anywhere above ground.

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