India to launch remote sensing satellite this month

India to launch remote sensing satellite this month

  9:35:00 PM    Science Lover

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BANGALORE, India (AFP) — India will later this month launch a remote sensing satellite equipped with high-resolution cameras and advanced scientific instruments, space agency officials said here.

Cartosat-2A, as the all-weather, reconnaissance satellite is called, will be used to plan urban and rural development projects. It can also be used for intelligence gathering, the officials said Friday.

"The tentative launch date is April 28," Indian Space Research Organisation chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters in Bangalore where the agency is based.

"The exact date and time will be finalised in a fortnight after factoring weather and other relevant data," he added.

Identical to the mapping satellite Cartosat-2, which was launched in January 2007, the 680-kilogram (1,500-pound) Cartosat-2A will be placed in a polar orbit at an altitude of 630 kilometres (391 miles).

The satellite will be launched by the Indian-developed rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, from the Sriharikota space station in southern India.

India started its space programme in 1963, and has since developed and put several of its own satellites into space. It has also designed and built launch rockets to reduce its dependence on overseas space agencies.

Space agency chairman Nair said the body has finalised a project report concerning a manned mission by 2014-15.

"The report is being submitted to the government for approval and budgetary allocation," he said. "The Space Commission, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will meet next week or so to review the report and take a decision."

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How to Find a Good Cheap Laptop

How to Find a Good Cheap Laptop

  11:07:00 AM    Science Lover

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So you want a laptop but you don't have thousands of dollars to spend? Don't worry - there are plenty of ways to find a cheap laptop if you know where to look. Fortunately, laptop prices have actually come down quite a bit in recent years, so they aren't as expensive as they used to be. It's pretty easy to find laptop deals, especially if you wait for sales to pop up.

Cheap laptops are only worth the low price if they come with the features and specs you need in a computer. That means you should look for a high quality laptop at a reasonable price. Purchasing a laptop with the lowest price tag doesn't necessarily mean you're getting a good deal. If it doesn't perform well, it's not worth the money. The best laptop deals usually come from sales being held by an electronics store on laptops that you actually want.

If you don't have the patience (or the time) to keep your eyes constantly peeled for the next big sale, there are better ways to find cheap laptops. You can check out a used computer store to see if they have any good deals - used laptops are often only a few years old, still work well, and come for dramatically reduced prices. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can find a second-hand laptop that's almost new at this kind of store.

Online shopping is another great way to find laptop deals. Online stores tend to offer lower prices, and when they have sales, you can find laptops for even less. Or, you can go the wholesale route and try to find the laptop you're looking for from a reputable wholesaler on the Internet. Finding cheap laptops isn't always easy, but it is possible. Once you start to know and understand the different sources that sell laptops, you'll become an expert at scouting out the rare finds.

Comparison shopping is also important if you want to find the best laptop deals out there. If you don't do some research and compare the prices on laptops in different stores, you won't know where the best deals are being offered. Again, this only applies to regular stores - if you want the lowest prices available for cheap laptops, you'll have to go directly to sources that the average consumer doesn't know about.

In addition to stores selling used laptops, you can search for online sites or stores selling refurbished laptops. Refurbished laptops are cheaper because they have a minor flaw, or have been returned by customers, and are being re-sold to the public. Stores can't sell the laptops for regular prices, so you can pick up some amazing laptop deals this way if you're willing to take a bit of a chance and deal with purchasing something that isn't in perfect condition. With this method you can buy cheap laptops that are the newest models.

Used laptop stores may offer slightly better deals, but you can't purchase brand new laptops at this type of store. Refurbished models, on the other hand, are new and up-to-date, except for the fact that the box may have already been opened.

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