NASA to examine Pyramid in Mars..

Mars Pyramid

Curiosity's robotic arm is set to get its first workout. It's been tasked with examining a football-sized rock whose odd pyramidal shape caught the eyes of NASA scientists--and fueled the imagination of earthlings everywhere who are perhaps a tad too eager for the rover to find evidence of intelligent life on the Red Planet.

"The target rock looks like a miniature Great Pyramid of Giza, with one face artisans neglected to maintain," noted The Christian Science Monitor. "It is not something you would expect to see on the surface of Mars," wrote the Daily Mail.

Turns out there is a straightforward explanation for the rock. Project scientist John Grotzinger told The Independent that the pyramid rock shape is not uncommon on Mars. Wind erosion probably did the carving.

So the Jake Matijevic -- the name given to the rock, after a NASA engineer who died on Aug. 20 -- is probably just a rock.

"Our general consensus view is that these are pieces of impact ejecta from an impact somewhere else, maybe outside of Gale Crater [where the rover landed], that throws a rock on to the plains, and it just goes on to sit here for a long period of time," he said to The Independent. "It weathers more slowly than the stuff that's around it. So, that means it's probably a harder rock."

Curiosity's arm sports a spectrometer for reading a target's chemical composition and a lens for close-up imaging.

Now! Call Your Loved One's from Mt.Everest

Standing atop the mighty Everest can be an exhilarating experience, but imagine being able to make video calls from the base station of Mount Everest. Reports confirm that a Chinese company has installed its station at a base camp that is at a height of 5200 metres. 

A Call from Mt.Everest 

 Reports quoted Zhuo Feng, General Manager with the branch as saying that the signal from the station at the base camp can reach as high as 6,500 metres. He went on to add that several tourists complain of being unable to make phone calls while at the base camp. "Now they can call their friends here and show them the picturesque landscape of Mount Qomolangma, the local name for Mt Everest,” he added.

A statement issued by the mobile operator’s Tibetan branch read, “A just-finished week-long trial of the No 2 China Mobile 3G base station at the camp has found to be working well, providing a stable network service”. 

As per Zhou, there are no plans yet to move the base station to a higher altitude, because of pressure from environmentalists. Interestingly, he went on to add that the mobile network has been spread across 90 percent of the areas, along the route linking Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, and the base camp. The base camp is known to be often used as a place to rest for climbers preparing for ascent or descent of the 8,848-meter-high Mountain.

An attempt to study the effects of climatic change on Mt. Everest gained popularity recently. A webcam, developed by a Germany-based surveillance firm, Mobotix had been set up at Kalapathhar, a base camp close to Mt Everest, which stands at an altitude of 5,675 meters. The webcam is powered by solar energy, and operates during the day. The camera began operations last year, and can withstand temperatures as harsh as minus 30 degrees. The live images sent in by the webcam will be wirelessly transmitted to Ev-K2-CNR Pyramid Laboratory, which will then be studied by scientists from Italy, who are running the entire project. 

Just this morning, we reported about state-run operator, BSNL together with SIS Infosystems launching telephones with video calling capabilities, in what is a much wider attempt to replace several of the existing Public Call Offices with public Video Call Offices. 

In his statement to reporters, BSNL Chairman and MD, R K Upadhyay affirmed that using the telephones with video calling capabilities, BSNL will set up public Video Calling Offices (VCOs), where users will be able to make voice calls to any phone and video calls to any other IP (Internet-based) phone. 

A 45-second video calling session at a VCO will cost a user Rs 3, which is inclusive of the 30 percent commission for the franchise owner. Upadhyay was further quoted as saying, “There will be no need to use computers for making video calls for user of these video phones.”

US government A Cyber Crooks: This report Says!

As the U.S. government defends our interests and technology in the escalating global cyberwar, could it inadvertently be handing cyberweapons to criminals? 

Cyber Crooks

Last week, security firm Kaspersky hinted that such a nightmare situation may have taken one step closer to reality. Kaspersky revealed that a sophisticated program had been used to record instant messaging and social networking logins and bank account information and passwords -- including targets such as Citibank and PayPal accounts -- on some 2,500 infected PCs. 

It may have been based on the Stuxnet cyberweapon widely attributed to the U.S.

This program, dubbed Gauss, raised alarms for its financial focus: Rather than trying to disrupt nuclear lab equipment or steal cruise missile plans it seemed devised for monetary gain, the very goal of cybercriminals worldwide.

"There's no doubt in our mind that the authors [of Gauss] needed to have access to that [Stuxnet] source code to create this malware," Roel Schouwenberg, senior researcher at Kaspersky Lab, told FoxNews.com. "Therefore, we're convinced this is coming from the same factory which created Stuxnet."

"The only alternative is that the source code has been leaked or stolen, which is an extremely scary scenario."

'We're convinced this is from the same factory which created Stuxnet. The only alternative is an extremely scary scenario.'

- Roel Schouwenberg, senior researcher at Kaspersky Lab

Millions of dollars were invested in viruses like Stuxnet, which was designed by the United States and Israel, according to The New York Times, to infiltrate and then disrupt Iran's nuclear program. If that cutting-edge, expensive software fell into the wrong hands, and hackers were able to reverse engineer the program, then banks, brokerages, and businesses all over the planet could be vulnerable. 

Unfortunately, once a program like Stuxnet or its derivative Flame is released on the Web, it is then "in the wild," meaning that a determined crook -- or other espionage agency -- could get his hands on it and turn it into his own weapon of choice.

Contrast this situation to the days of the Cold War, when a foreign power would have to physically steal a fighter jet, James Bond-style, to uncover an enemy's secret technology. Today, simply releasing a spy program on the Net could mean that one is essentially handing over the blueprints to your country's latest cyberstealth technology.

That possibility is "scary" because of the level of sophistication of this espionage software. For example, Flame can not only record every keystroke on a computer but also grab screen images and turn on a microphone, eavesdropping on conversations in the room or during an online call. 

Programs like Flame are also difficult to trace and difficult to detect because they contain multiple self-destruct mechanisms like a modern-day "Mission Impossible" tape recording. There's also the challenge of determining exactly who created it or what information the program is seeking because portions of the software are encrypted to such a degree that Kaspersky Lab has been unable to crack it.

"Malware overall is an arms race," noted Michael Sutton, vice president of security research at Zscaler, pointing out that the techniques used by Flame and other programs "will certainly be studied and adapted by other malware authors that may well be involved in cybercrime."

The extreme efforts taken by the software to conceal Gauss' source mean it's difficult to say who's responsible -- cybercrooks or cyberspies -- but this very feature also is a potential silver lining: If security researchers can't crack its encryption, then it's unlikely that any hackers can copy the software. (Kaspersky is now petitioning other researchers to help it crack Gauss.)

There is at least one reason to think that Gauss is the work of government espionage and not crooks looking to skim millions from bank accounts. Most of the infected computers -- but by no means all -- were in the Middle East and most of the targeted banks were in Lebanon. Some of those banks have been accused of laundering money for drug smugglers and terrorists. 

Whoever developed the software may have simply been looking for terrorists, following Deep Throat's advice to "Follow the money." 

Terrorist networks tend to trade information via SMS and funnel money through online banks. Tracing the flow of money could lead a government to a terrorist's physical location and reveal networks of operatives.

Unfortunately, the malware genie may already be out of the bottle. It's been demonstrated time and again that just about any encryption scheme can be broken -- given the proper amount of effort and computing resources. So it may only be a matter of time until criminals -- or other governments -- have their hands on espionage-grade software. 

If they don't already.

Mr.Bean's New Game on Facebook

Mr.Bean's New Game

Hello everyone! The Mr Bean team are super excited about the brand new game app that they have launched for Facebook fans! Click on the link to play -http://www.facebook.com/MrBean/app_208195102528120

Track your Tracks by GPS Shoes

GPS shoes

An English shoemaker has invented a pair of shoes that can help you navigate anywhere you want to go with three simple clicks. 

The shoes are called 'No Place Like Home' after Dorothy's famous line from 'The Wizard of Oz.' 

The heel of the left shoe is hollowed out to hold a GPS unit, ABC News reported. 

A small antenna, covered in red fabric on the back of the shoe reads signals from GPS satellites, the report said. 

To start the GPS, you just click your heels three times. A magnet in the right shoe and a sensor in the left detect when you've done it. 

The GPS is powered by a small battery similar to that in a cellphone. 

There is a computer program that allows you to plot your destination on a map, which you upload to the shoes via USB cable. 

The left shoe has a circle of LED lights on the toe that light up to show you the direction you need to go. 

The right shoe has a line of LEDs that act as a progress bar, telling you how close you are to your destination. The shoes communicate via wireless, the report said. 

The shoes have red calf leather inside, homage to Dorothy's red shoes, Dominic Wilcox from London said. 

Wilcox was commissioned by the Global Footprint project to design a pair of shoes. He was allowed to make any shoe he wanted. 

"I thought about the 'Wizard of Oz' and Dorothy and how she clicks her heels three times to get home," Wilcox said. 

"I thought, 'Is it possible to make that real in some way using the technology that we have?'" 

Wilcox said he doesn't have any plans for the shoes yet, calling them a "work in progress." 

He originally made one pair just for the exhibition at the London Design Festival, but because of all the attention they've been getting, he may try to make more, he said.

Why your dogs are thinks like a doggie?

Doggy

You say your pet is your baby. But when you speak human, it thinks in doggie. Here's how to get on the same page

Aneesha Rai, a pet groomer, admits to being a "paranoid pet parent who used to humanise my pets and treat them as my babies". She cooed enthusiastically when four-monthold Elsa and five-year-old Bubbles played rough and tumble games for hours. She allowed Bubbles to sleep up on the bed and get away with disobedience, putting it down to her being a brat.

Slowly, as the disobedience issues got worse, she realised the problem was of communication. She was sending them signs, which in doggie language, meant they were the boss and did not have to listen to her.

This gap in language is usually the root of a lot of parent-pet discord. According to canine behaviourist Shirin Merchant, the best thing you can do for your pet is understand (s)he is a dog and relate to it as such. Here are a few behaviours that we could think are cute but mean something more serious in the doggie world.

Rough play
If you have two or more dogs, they tend to play rough games that involve nipping with each other, especially if one or both of them are puppies. They are practising dog-to-dog aggression, and are most likely to carry it on to other dogs, or even humans. This would pose a problem with socialisation. Aneesha figured this out and now lets them play together only when they are too tired to play rough games. The aggression is channelised into chew toys, walks or runs.

Hugging
A hug is a greeting gesture for us, but dogs only stand on their hind legs and hug each other when they attack. While pet dogs may have been bullied by our affections into accepting this behaviour, strange dogs find this very intimidating. So if you are going to greet an unknown stray with an embrace, don't blame it if it bites.

Sleep on the bed: You think its love; the dog thinks its promotion. In animal packs, the leader usually sleeps in an elevated position. So when you allow your dog on the sofa or bed, and (s)he does not climb off when you tell it to, it's because (s)he thinks (s)he's the boss. Usually, such a dog with also show other signs of disobedience, such as not coming when called, refusal to give his/her toy to you or growling when you touch his/her food. That's because it can't understand why (s)he has to listen to underlings like you.

Playing tug
Playing tug by itself is a fight for dominance, but it can be a game if you set the rules. You should initiate the game, not it; and it should let go of the toy when you ask. Pull in an up-down motion, or backwards and forwards; never side-ways. This mimics the motions of killing a prey, and you don't want it to make that association with the toy.

Mild reprimands
If your dog barks at another dog, and you just reprimand mildly by saying, "No baba. Don't do that. You're a good dog, na?" the dog is hearing, "Good job. Go, get that pest." When dogs display attention, they glance back at their owners or elder dogs to confirm support. They wouldn't take on another dog without being assured of back-up. The first step is to not make eye-contact with a dog when there is mild barking (while still sitting down), and when it gets out of hand, give a sharp tug and say 'No' in a very loud, sharp voice. Dogs catch on to tone more than the meaning of words. Soft tones mean encouragement and if you sprinkle the words 'good' or 'nice', they do not get the meaning and perceive it as encouragement.

Jesus Married or Unmarried? New Reports

Jesus

A previously unknown scrap of ancient papyrus written in ancient Egyptian Coptic includes the words "Jesus said to them, my wife," -- a discovery likely to renew a fierce debate in the Christian world over whether Jesus was married.

The existence of the fourth-century fragment -- not much bigger than a business card -- was revealed at a conference in Rome on Tuesday by Karen King, Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said in a statement released by Harvard.

"This new gospel doesn't prove that Jesus was married, but it tells us that the whole question only came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage."

Despite the Catholic Church's insistence that Jesus was not married, the idea resurfaces on a regular basis, notably with the 2003 publication of Dan Brown's best-seller "The Da Vinci Code," which angered many Christians because it was based on the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children.

King said the fragment, unveiled at the Tenth International Congress of Coptic Studies, provided the first evidence that some early Christians believed Jesus had been married.

Roger Bagnall, director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in New York, said he believed the fragment, which King has called "The Gospel of Jesus's wife," was authentic.

But further examination will be made by experts, as well as additional testing of the papyrus fragment, described as brownish-yellow and tattered. Of particular interest will be the chemical composition of the ink.

The fragment is owned by an anonymous private collector who contacted King to help translate and analyze it, and is thought to have been discovered in Egypt or perhaps Syria.

King said that it was not until around 200 A.D. that claims started to surface, via the theologian known as Clement of Alexandria, that Jesus did not marry.

"This fragment suggests that other Christians of that period were claiming that he was married" but does not provide actual evidence of a marriage, she said.

"Christian tradition preserved only those voices that claimed Jesus never married. The 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' now shows that some Christians thought otherwise."

King's analysis of the fragment is slated for publication in the Harvard Theological Review in January 2013. She has posted a draft of the paper, and images of the fragment, on the Harvard Divinity School website:

http://www.hds.harvard.edu/faculty-research/research-projects/the-gospel-of-jesuss-wife