India to launch $45 tablet computer

India to launch $45 tablet computer

  9:48:00 AM    Science Lover

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India is set Wednesday to launch its long-awaited low-cost computer, a $45 tablet device designed to bring the information technology revolution to tens of millions of students.

Indian customers visit the computer section at the Croma electronics mega-store in Mumbai in September 2011. India is set Wednesday to launch its long-awaited low-cost computer, a $45 tablet device designed to bring the information technology revolution to tens of millions of students.

The touchscreen computer has a seven-inch (18-centimetre) screen, Wi-Fi Internet access, a media player and 180 minutes of battery power, according to official specifications.

Called the "Akash" ("Sky"), the locally-made device will be launched in New Delhi by Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal after years of delays.

"It will cost 2,200 rupees ($45) and the first batch of 500 tablets will be handed over to students after the release," ministry spokeswoman Mamata Varma told AFP.

"Initially, 700 Akash tablets will be made every day and we expect the production to pick up when more companies join in to manufacture the device," she said.

The commercial marketing strategy for the Akash remains unclear, but most of the computers are likely to be sold through universities and colleges rather than shops.

Canada-based Datawind, the current manufacturer, said the tablet used an Android 2.2 operating system, had video-conferencing capability, two USB ports and a 32GB expandable memory.

But experts warned its 256-megabyte random access memory (RAM) would limit performance.

Commercial manufacturers are hoping Indian customers will leapfrog personal computers to buy tablets, as millions did by buying mobile telephones instead of waiting for a landline.

Apple's internationally-popular iPad computers costs a minimum of $600 in India, with competitor Reliance Communications selling a rival tablet device at about $290.

The Akash is part of a push to increase the number of students in higher education and to give them the technological skills needed to further boost the country's recent rapid economic growth.

India, where the 61 percent literacy rate lags far behind many other developing nations such as China with 92 percent, is making major efforts to improve its education system.

The government had promised to release the first 100,000 Akash computers by January 2011, but uncertainty over the level of government subsidy is thought to have delayed mass production.

The much-hyped "computer for the masses" was said to be on the brink of release in both 2005 and 2009 -- only for it never to materialise. Industry observers say rising labour charges, cheap imports, and more sophisticated tablets could undermine the Akash among India's tech-savvy youngsters.

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Unlocking the Secret of Beauty: Scientists Discover the Complexities of Attractive Female Bodies

Unlocking the Secret of Beauty: Scientists Discover the Complexities of Attractive Female Bodies

  9:49:00 AM    Science Lover

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Scientists in Australia and Hong Kong have conducted a comprehensive study to discover how different body measurements correspond with ratings of female attractiveness. The study, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive.

Scientists in Australia and Hong Kong have conducted a comprehensive study to discover how different body measurements correspond with ratings of female attractiveness. The study found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive. (Credit: iStockphoto/Lev Dolgatshjov)

"Physical attractiveness is an important determining factor for evolutionary, social and economic success," said lead author Robert Brooks from the University of New South Wales. "The dimensions of someone's body can tell observers if that person is suitable as a potential mate, a long term partner or perhaps the threat they pose as a sexual competitor."

Traditional studies of attractiveness have been bound to the Darwinian idea of natural selection, which argues that an individual will always choose the best possible mate that circumstances will allow. Such studies have focused on torso, waist, bust and hip measurements.

In this study the team measured the attractiveness of scans of 96 bodies of Chinese women who were either students or volunteers, aged between 20-49 years of age.

Videos of the models were shown to a sample of 92 Australian adults, 40 men and 52 women, aged between 18 to 58 years of age, and mostly of European descent. They then compared the attractiveness ratings given by the Australian group to the ratings from a group in Hong Kong to avoid cultural bias.

Both sample groups were asked to rate the models' attractiveness on a 7 point scale; on average the raters took just 5.35 seconds to rate each model. The team then explored the statistical results, focusing on age, body weight and a range of length and girth measurements.

The results showed that there was a strong level of agreement between the 4 groups of Australian men and women, and Hong Kong men and women, with scans of younger, taller and lighter women being rated as more attractive. Women with narrow waists, especially relative to their height, were also considered much more attractive.

The study also revealed that BMI (Body mass index) and HWR (Hip to waist ratio) were both strong predictors of attractiveness. Scans of taller women who had longer arms were also rated highly, however leg size did not contribute significantly to the ratings.

"Our results showed consistent attractiveness ratings by men and women and by Hong Kong Chinese and Australian raters, suggesting considerable cross cultural consistency," concluded Brooks. "In part this may be due to shared media experiences. Nonetheless when models are stripped of their most obvious racial and cultural features, the features that make bodies attractive tend to be shared by men and women across cultural divides."

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Ozone Pollution in N. America from Asia

Ozone Pollution in N. America from Asia

  12:23:00 AM    Science Lover

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Springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising primarily due to air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean, a trend that is largest when the air originates in Asia.

A cadre of government and commercial aircraft helped collect data for a new study linking an increase in springtime ozone levels in western North America with pollutants drifting eastward from overseas, including Asia. (Credit: Image courtesy NOAA)

Such increases in ozone could make it more difficult for the United States to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution at ground level, according to a new international study. Published online January 20 in the journal Nature, the study analyzed large sets of ozone data captured since 1984.

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Microsoft plans job portal in India

Microsoft plans job portal in India

  5:00:00 PM    Science Lover

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NEW DELHI: Microsoft Corp yesterday announced that it was in talks with partners in government and industry for a job search portal.

The company said that it plans to launch a job search service this year for the country's nearly 400,000 engineers graduating every year. Microsoft's job portal will compete with Info Edge (India) www.naukri.com and Monster Worldwide’s www.monsterindia.com, among others. Its online portal www.msn.com will provide educational content to students.

The company has also entered into an agreement with Advanced Micro Devices and Zenith Computers to make and sell personal computers in India.

The computers, priced at Rs 21,000, would be sold in 10 retail outlets each in Bangalore and Pune from July on a test basis for three months and will be expanded later on the basis of response.

"We don't see any gain in the short term. Our perspective is long term," Microsoft India chairman Ravi Venkatesan told reporters.

In 2006/07 the total installed base of PCs in India was 22 million, that is, a PC for about every 50 Indians, industry tracking body IDC said in a recent report.

SOURCE : THE TIMES OF INDIA

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