The Web in 2012: With IE10

Given how fast the Web is changing, it can be hard to see what's going to happen next week, much less next year.

After simmering for a few years last decade, the Web has been a frenzy of activity in the last few years. Developers are advancing what can be done, people are spending more time on the Web, and browser makers are locked in intense competition.

Broadly speaking, it's easy to see that Web technology will get more important and more sophisticated. But if for some detail, here are my five predictions for what'll happen next year.

IE10 knocks our socks off
Internet Explorer 9 was the warning shot across the bow for Web developers and rival browser makers, but Microsoft was playing catch-up after years of neglect. Watching the pace of development for IE10 reveals that the company is on fire. It's moved from catch-up to leading-edge. Where IE once was years behind Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome with support for new standards, it's now neck-and-neck, and Microsoft is actively contributing to standards development.

Microsoft has more than pride resting on IE10. It's a foundation for the new Metro-style apps on Windows 8, which means all that work to bring fancy animation effects and hardware acceleration to the Web will carry over to Windows, too. Microsoft has bet the farm on Web technologies, so you can bet IE10 will be strong.

IE10 won't be for everyone. You'll need Windows 7 or Windows 8. IE9 left the legions of Windows XP users behind, and IE10 will add Windows Vista to the discard pile. That'll limit its influence with the mainstream public. But despite all Microsoft's troubles as it scrambles to follow Apple into the tablet and smartphone market, IE10 will be a force. The PC market may have grown stale, in the words of Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini, but it's still big, and building IE10 into Windows 8 gives it a big presence. Also, if you're on a legacy version of Internet Explorer like IE6 or IE7, watch out--in January, Microsoft will start forcing you to move to a more modern version.

There's one big caveat here: WebGL. Microsoft has very publicly bad-mouthed it as a security risk. WebGL allies believe Microsoft will come around once it realizes WebGL can be made as secure as Microsoft's own new Silverlight 3D interface. But if the programmers in Redmond stay recalcitrant, maybe you'll have to tab over to another browser when it's time for your Web-based gaming.

Web games take off
Games on the Web are nothing new, but in 2012, they're going to look a lot different. Instead of primitive graphics or a reliance on Adobe Systems' Flash Player, Web games will look more like what we're used to seeing on consoles.

The Web grew up as a medium for documents, and it's only gradually become more interactive as browsers' JavaScript performance exploded, JavaScript programming tools improved, and feature such as Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and Canvas improved 2D graphics. Now elaborate Web apps such as Facebook or Google Docs are the norm, and JavaScript programmers are in high demand.

But things are changing with the influx of a new breed of Web developers: those used to programming in the lower-level C or C++ languages. These are the coders who build the console games with advanced 3D graphics and heavy-duty physics engines, and their games are the ones where speedboats splash through transparent, reflecting, rippling water.

There are two hardware-accelerated technologies duking it out to enable this future. First is WebGL, a 3D graphics interface which began at Mozilla, was standardized by the Khronos Group, and is now built into Firefox, Chrome, and Opera. Second is Native Client, a Chrome-only technology that can run adapted versions of the original C and C++ games. WebGL fits into the Web world better and has broader support, but it's tied to JavaScript. Native Client, aka NaCl, has yet to win over any browser makers besides Google itself.

Other technologies will lend a big helping hand, too: the newly finished WebSocket for fast communications and Web Workers for better multitasking.

These technologies will eventually trickle down to the mobile realm, though I expect only baby steps in 2012. Still, that should help fan the flames of the competition between Web apps and native apps on mobile.

I don't expect one to win out over the other (or to squeeze Flash Player off our personal computers, for that matter--the new Flash Player 11 has new hardware-accelerated 3D technology, too). But I do expect WebGL and NaCl will be used to make today's browser look nearly as static as paper.

Chrome surpasses Firefox
When Google's browser first emerged as a stripped-down beta project more than three years ago, people laughed. Not anymore.

In 2012, expect Chrome to pass Mozilla's Firefox for the No. 2 spot in Net Applications' browser ranking. It already is No. 2 by StatCounter's scores, but that measures page views, not people, and I think the latter is a better reflection of the competitive dynamic.

Mozilla has been working hard to shake off the cobwebs and make Firefox leaner, faster, and less of a memory hog. But Google's browser continues its steady rise, and Google under new Chief Executive Larry Page has made Chrome one of the company's new divisions.

Chrome is an important vehicle to deliver Google technology to the world, most notably Web-acceleration ideas such as SPDY, TLS False Start, WebP, and the Dart alternative to JavaScript. Chrome's wide use gives Google a place at the standards-setting table that's crucial as it tries to make the Web into a rich programming foundation.

The risk that comes with Chrome's rise is that Google will fragment the Web. It's had some success getting its browser ideas to catch on. For example, Mozilla is interested in SPDY for faster page loading, and Amazon's Silk browser uses it already. But Google is encouraging developers to create extensions and Web apps that can be distributed through the Chrome Web Store, for Chrome and Chrome OS only. A Chrome-only version of the Web hearkens back to the bad old days of IE6's dominance, when writing to Web standards was a secondary concern.

Google re-ups with Mozilla
One thing I don't expect in 2012 is for Google to cease being Mozilla's biggest benefactor by walking away from a years-old search partnership that ended in November.

With the partnership, people using Firefox's search box send traffic to Google's search engine. When they click on the search ads they see there, advertisers pay Google, and Google gives some of that revenue back to Mozilla.

It's true that Google could seriously hurt Firefox by scrapping the partnership, though Mozilla could certainly hook up its revenue hose to Microsoft's Bing if it did. But I don't think Google will drop Mozilla.

First, Mozilla and Google, despite differences, both are passionately interested in building a better Web. Chrome's purpose is not to vanquish rival browsers, it's to improve the Web, and in that, Mozilla is more an ally than enemy.

Second, paying Mozilla a few tens of millions of dollars a year is peanuts to Google--and Google still keeps its share of the search-ad revenue that Mozilla was responsible for Google generating in the first place.

Last, and perhaps not least, hanging Mozilla out to dry would show Google to be a big bully. That's not an image you want when you're constantly tangling with antitrust authorities. Google and Mozilla might significantly modify their arrangement, but they won't part ways.

Chrome on Android arrives
Chrome is based on the open-source WebKit browser engine project. Android's unbranded browser is, too. I bet that in 2012, the latter will pick up the brand name of the former.

Android was based on WebKit but had been developed in isolation. Now Google is merging programming work again, making the Android browser less of an alien offshoot. That should make it easier for Google to achieve the compatibility requirements that it evidently feels are part of the Chrome brand's promise.

That would match what Apple does, offering Safari for both Mac OS and iOS. Chrome is one of Google's most important brands, and it's not getting its money's worth out of it yet.

One thing I'd expect before seeing Chrome on an Android phone or tablet: sync. Right now, Chrome is ever better at keeping the same bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history across multiple installations. Moving to Android, though, a Chrome user loses all that. The Android browser's isolation is a poor fit for Google's ambition to keep us all happy in its corner of the Web, with seamless connections between one product and another.

Mobile browsing is getting steadily more important; expect its growth in usage to continue to outpace that of personal computers. Web developers will have to keep up, and now it's important to recognize that tablets are in many ways more like PCs than smartphones.

Because of the iPad's tablet dominance and the fact that iPhone owners seem to use online services more often, though, expect iOS to remain the dominant mobile browse

Windows 8 Beta

A public beta of Windows 8 will launch in late February of next year, 

Citing "sources close to Microsoft," TNW pointed to February for the beta's debut but said the release date for the final version of Windows 8 remains a mystery, though it's expected to ship next year.

Mary Jo Foley of CNET sister site ZDNet said she's heard that the beta would appear after next month's Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from January 10 to 13, but Foley said she isn't aware of any specific dates.

If the February timeframe holds true for the beta, the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) version of Windows 8 could hit the market as early as June. The final shipping version would then see the light of day in the third quarter, just in time to land on PCs and mobile devices for the 2012 holiday season.

This past June, Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft corporate vice president for Strategic and Emerging Business Development, hinted at a fall 2012 release date for the new OS, though that was predicated on the beta already being out by now.

MicroSoft Math

System Requirements: Windows XP and up; .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

This program is targeted primarily for the educational audience, but it can be useful for jobs that require math calculations. It packs in many features, including equation-solving, unit conversion, 2d and 3d graphing, algebra, trigonometry, and even calculus. It can display step-by-step instructions on how to solve a problem, which can be very helpful to students who are learning new math topics. You can also scribble things free-hand as input, and it does a fairly decent job at recognizing everything (although sometimes you may need to redraw some symbols). This program was originally not free, but Microsoft released the newest version as freeware on January 11, 2011. Microsoft also provides Microsoft Mathematics Add-In for Word and OneNote, which adds Microsoft Mathematics features to those programs.

Download Link for Microsoft Mthematics 4.0

Google Maps puts WebGL 3D Graphics

Google has enabled a "MapsGL" option to show 3D buildings on the site through the use of WebGL, a 3D graphics technology for the Web that four of the five top browsers have embraced.

The move marks another step in the convergence of the browser-based Google Maps and the more immersive Google Earth software that stemmed from Google's 2004 acquisition of Keyhole. Google Earth lets people fly around, overlays imagery on contoured terrain, and shows 3D buildings.

With WebGL, Google Maps gets the 3D buildings--also visible on Android's Maps app--and more.

Other features include a swoopy transition from an ordinary bird's-eye view to Street View; the ability to rotate a map so something besides north is at the top; and a gradual transition from a straight-down satellite view to the more detailed 45-degree aerial photography views Google offers in some areas.

I found it to be nice, but a bit rough around the edges, chiefly because of screen clutter and some rough typography, but I also found it fairly slick. The way I see things headed, Google is creating a virtual reconstruction of the world in 3D, and this is a big step on the way.

To try the feature out, click the "Want to try something new?" words on the lower left side of the screen.

It won't be long now before Google conducts intuits your desires as you walk around a city, conducting real-time auctions to see which merchant gets to pop up a contextually relevant, targeted advertisement on your augmented-reality contact lenses.

Maybe that's a bit far-fetched, but then again, maybe not. "You're now one step closer to experiencing and interacting with a 3D mirror of the real world within your browser with Google MapsGL," said Brian McClendon, vice president of Google Maps and Earth, in a blog post today.

In any event, I see this as, if not a watershed moment for WebGL, at least a compelling reason why you might want to have it in your browser.

WebGL grew up through a collaboration between Mozilla and the Khronos Group, a standards organization, and Google quickly jumped aboard. At present, the Firefoxbeta and Chrome support WebGL, and it can be enabled in Safari. It's based on the OpenGL ES interface for graphics chips.

Today, Opera joined the WebGL world with the release of the Opera 12 alpha, code-named Wahoo, and for the occasion, the company released a WebGL version of the game Emberwood. Other

Website of Supreme Court of Pakistan Hacked

Website of the Honourable Supreme court of Pakistan is hacked, as you can see in the picture, rest of the message of the hacker is as under;

 

[!] Struck By Zombie_Ksa

The Notorious Zombie_Ksa is Back

You Must have Heard about me on, news, headlines, Gov. charges, blogs, blah blah

YES, Pakistan Supreme Court got STAMPED by Zombie_Ksa.

What i can see, I Guess, Supreme Court of Pakistan is in Wrong, Untalented Hands !!

Well Why Did I Choose Supreme Court of Pakistan for HaCkinG ?

Just tO Convey my Message tO Mr Chief So Called Justice Of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry...

Mr Chief hello0 :D !! Hope So yO Enjoying your full time Luxurious Life.. :D aint u? O.o
So I am here tO request you to go 0ut there and help the poor,needy and hungry.
They Dont have money to Eat one time Meal
They dont Have Clothes to wear
They dont have Accommodation !!

Sitting 0n y0ur r0yal chair w0nt make any changes to 0ur Pakistan

Baby m here tO Tell this mofo World that We are Pakistan ....Not Pornistan... & Sir i need ur help.. Since u have powefull balls and i request you to take action to ban porn sites in Pakistan. Read it again I request you to BAN Pornographic sites in PAKISTAN... PTA is paid whore... they dont give a damn shit about our complains... They can BAN Porn sites... ANd if they dont WTF they are paid for? Mr CJ m again requesting you to take somoto action against PTA. If you dont then i myself will... I will Roast PTA's Asses like I raped FIA... & If they cant or they wont then InshALLAH I will raise the 1337 gr33n flag high and ll Hack PTA like i hacked bef0re =) ...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Webmaster:Mr.Malik Sohail Ahmad The data is intact, no harm done. The index file is only replaced with this message.Well Dude You Don't Know Nothing !! Here in PAKISTAN who has Degree He Is Monster and you Idiot is Webmaster of Supreme Court of PAKISTAN ? Death to U !! Learn Some Serious Shit Insane !!>

We are L33t Pakistani H4x0rZ,

www.Pakbugs.com

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we are PAKbugs, We keep it real:
   Greetz: Zombie_Ksa | spo0feR | xOOmxOOm | Cyber-Criminal | bh | Agd_Scorp | aB0 m0h4mM3d | The Moorish | Shadow008 |

First Flaws in the Internet Banking Identified

Researchers have found a weakness in the AES algorithm. They managed to come up with a clever new attack that can recover the secret key four times easier than anticipated by experts.
The attack is a result of a long-term cryptanalysis project carried out by Andrey Bogdanov (K.U.Leuven, visiting Microsoft Research at the time of obtaining the results), Dmitry Khovratovich (Microsoft Research), and Christian Rechberger (ENS Paris, visiting Microsoft Research).
The AES algorithm is used by hundreds of millions of users worldwide to protect internet banking, wireless communications, and the data on their hard disks. In 2000, the Rijndael algorithm, designed by the Belgian cryptographers Dr. Joan Daemen (STMicroelectronics) and Prof. Vincent Rijmen (K.U.Leuven), was selected as the winner of an open competition organized by the US NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology). Today AES is used in more than 1700 NIST-validated products and thousands of others; it has been standardized by NIST, ISO, and IEEE and it has been approved by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) for protecting secret and even top secret information.

In the last decade, many researchers have tested the security of the AES algorithm, but no flaws were found so far. In 2009, some weaknesses were identified when AES was used to encrypt data under four keys that are related in a way controlled by an attacker; while this attack was interesting from a mathematical point of view, the attack is not relevant in any application scenario. The new attack applies to all versions of AES even if it used with a single key. The attack shows that finding the key of AES is four times easier than previously believed; in other words, AES-128 is more like AES-126. Even with the new attack, the effort to recover a key is still huge: the number of steps to find the key for AES-128 is an 8 followed by 37 zeroes. To put this into perspective: on a trillion machines, that each could test a billion keys per second, it would take more than two billion years to recover an AES-128 key. Note that large corporations are believed to have millions of machines, and current machines can only test 10 million keys per second.
Because of these huge complexities, the attack has no practical implications on the security of user data; however, it is the first significant flaw that has been found in the widely used AES algorithm and was confirmed by the designers.

New Spam Targeting Facebook Users Is Invisible to Most Virus Scans

Cyber-criminals are using fake e-mails to target Facebook users and deliver computer viruses that were being detected only by one-third of the 42 most common anti-virus products as of 12 noon March 18, says a leading cyber-crime researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Gary Warner, the UAB director of research in computer forensics, says his team in the UAB Spam Data Mine has been tracking the Facebook spam campaign for the past three days. While it is not in the data mine's list of the top 10 most prevalent malware threats, Warner says the fake Facebook messages and related viruses are serious.
"The malware being delivered is called 'BredoLab.' It has been occasionally spread by spam since May of 2009," Warner says. "The UAB Spam Data Mine has observed at least eight versions of the Facebook BredoLab malware since March 16.
"What is troubling is the newer versions of the BredoLab used in this latest attack campaign are not being detected by the majority of anti-virus services -- and that means the majority of users who unwittingly click on the bogus attachments linked to fake e-mails are going to have their computers infected," Warner says.
In this new campaign, cyber-criminals are using regular Internet e-mail services to deliver the false Facebook messages to the social media site's customers. The spam messages ask recipients to open an attachment in order to obtain new Facebook login information. Clicking the attachment exposes a user's computer to the BredoLab malware.
"Once a computer is infected with BredoLab, the cyber-criminals are able to add any other malicious software they desire to the infected computer, including password-stealing software, fake anti-virus software and spam-sending software," Warner says.
Warner warns that any legitimate company would never ask a customer to update his or her personal account information in an e-mail or through e-mail-embedded links or attachments.
"If there are questions about one of your account profiles, visit the site in question through your Web browser and log in as you normally would," he says. "If an entity has an important message for you, you'll be able to find it on its Web page."

Nokia C2-03 - Dual SIM Meets Touch and Type

Nokia C2-03 combines Dual-SIM functionality with Touch and Type technology. A great phone for those who want to combine their varied ...

This phone is a touch and type, Dual sim and apparently a slider as well. We have mentioned its price in Pakistan, however its subject to change and affirmative price will be released once phone is out in the market in 3rd quarter of year 2011.Update: Phone is now released in Pakistan.
Size	Dimensions	103 x 51.4 x 17 mm
	Weight	115 Grams
General	2G Network	GSM 900 / 1800 - SIM1 - SIM 2 / GSM 850 / 1900 - SIM1 - SIM 2
	3G Network
	Announced	21/06/2011
	Status	Released in Pakistan
Display	Type	It has resistive Touch and Type TFT screen with 56k Resolutions
	Size	240 x 320 pixels and 2.6 inches
	Extra	-Hand Writing Recognition System
Ringtones	Type	Wav Ringtones, Mp3
	Customization	3.5 mm Audio jack- Loudspeaker
	Vibration	Yes
Data	GPRS	Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 to 48 kbps
	HSCSD
	EDGE	Class 12
	3G	No
	WLAN	No
	Bluetooth	v2.1 which comes with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	microUSB v2.0
Features	OS	Symbian Series 40
	Messaging	Push Email, SMS, MMS, Emails
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML
	Games	Downloadable and Play
	Colors	Golden White and Chrome Black
	Camera	2 MP with 1600x1200 pixels - QCIF@15fps Video
		-Dual Sim - FM Radio - FM Radio Recording - MIDP 2.1 Java - Easy Swap SIM support (no reboot required) - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/AAC/WAV player - Organizer - FlashLite support - Voice memo - Predictive text input
Memory	PhoneBook	1000 Enter
	Call Records	Yes
	Card Slot	microSD, that goes up to 32GB and 2GB included
	Shared Memory	10 MB Internal Memory
	Extra
Battery	Type	Standard Li-Ion 1020 mAh (BL-5C)
	Talk-Time	5 hours talk time, but Music play can go up to 37 Hours
	Stand-By	Supports 400 hours
Price	PKR	Rs. 8,500
	USD	$97.65
	Disclaimer. We checked details of this handset prior to listing it here, yet we cannot assure you on the authenticity of details, please let us know if you find discrepancies.

FREE Download Latest Genuine Microsoft Softwares for HEC Students

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in collaboration with the Microsoft Pakistan has launched National Student Software Accessibility (NSSA) Portal to provide genuine software availability to the higher education sector.

The service will streamline software distribution to all faculty members and students of public sector universities in the country. All public sector universities recognized by HEC have been provided a customizable portal for licensed software distribution. The portal consisting of around 150 software applications will enable over one million students and about 40,000 faculty members to download genuine Microsoft software.The event to mark the launch of the portal was held today and attended by the Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Directors, and representatives from different universities of the country.

It gives us immense pleasure to inform you that every student, faculty and staff member can now download Latest Genuine Microsoft Software at no cost for their personal and home use under the strategic alliance agreement with Microsoft; as a part of this alliance between Higher Education Commission and Microsoft, free licensed Microsoft software were provided to all the Public Sector Universities for their official use. Now HEC in collaboration with Microsoft would like to announce that every student, faculty and staff member of all public sector universities have full access to thee-academy Licensing Management System (eLMS) Portal to download the complete suite of Microsoft products for their home use absolutely free.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairperson HEC Dr. Javaid R. Laghari said that this is a great opportunity for institutions of higher learning to gain access to a broad spectrum of technology and enable the country to move towards a knowledge-based economy, ultimately benefiting the country through socioeconomic development.

“I appreciate Microsoft’s commitment for development of the education sector in Pakistan. It is always fruitful for public sector and private enterprise to combine expertise, knowledge and resources to ensure successful and sustainable education transformation. Microsoft has facilitated HEC to attain its goals by transforming education, fostering local innovation and creating jobs and opportunities through the Strategic Education Alliance,” the Chairperson said.

Now students can demand their own account from the IT Services department of their respective university. You have to acquire your account as early as possible to get the maximum benefit from this facility.

Skype update connects you deeper with Facebook

Skype has released the latest update to its online calling software for Windows, offering more options for Facebook users.
Officially out of beta since Wednesday, the latest Skype 5.5 for Windows lets you check which of your Facebook friends are online and available to chat, all without having to leave Skype. Simply clicking on the View menu in the Skype software and then choosing Facebook Friends shows you the list.
By clicking on and then closing the Skype Home screen, you can also update your Facebook status and scroll down to view your entire Facebook wall.
Beyond the Facebook integration, Skype says that its latest version offers improved controls for video and group calls for Windows, better call reliability, and various design changes in the interface.
For some reason, I was unable to directly update my current version of Skype (5.3) to 5.5. Clicking on the "Check for Updates" link in the Help menu told me I was already running the latest version. I had to manually download and install the 5.5 version to get the new update.
But once it was installed, I was able to use Skype 5.5 to view my online Facebook friends, access my wall, and post status updates just as easily as I could in Facebook.

Money-Making From a Google Adsense

The key to making money with Google‘s Adsense is easy in theory, but requires some hard work and dedication:

1. You either need lots of traffic by having a site that is narrowly focused on potentially popular keywords that haven’t been dominated by the big blogs, or
2. Lesser-traffic but high-value keyword subject matter, such as certain retail goods. Cameras and shoes have been successes for bloggers seeking professional status.

To grow that traffic, you’ll need to make sure that you are creating quality content — not just slapping keywords onto a page — because you’ll want people to come back to your site and to tell their friends about your site. If people like the content, they’ll link to it from their Facebook pages and other places on the web. Think about what you’d like to read online and aim for that style of writing. Be passionate about your subject matter so that your enthusiasm shines through and infects your readers.
Also, write or create subject matter that attracts links (“link bait”). Top ten lists always are popular as are new and unique creations such as the first creators of LOL cats, etc.
Use photographs with your blog posts since people love to skim online and a picture can focus attention in ways that paragraphs sometimes can’t. Another advantage to using pictures is that if you use the ALT tag, Google will index your photos in its directory. Just make sure that you have the rights to use whatever photos you are posting since you do not want to risk having Google yank your Adsense earnings when it gets a DMCA take-down request. You also don’t want to get sued for copyright violations.
Blogging isn’t always just words and pictures, but also includes some of the things that go on behind the scenes. If you use WordPress, you can find plug-ins that will create site maps and will do some search engine optimization (SEO) functions automatically. Other things that you should plan to do are: 1) Refreshing old content by rewriting it to make it new and useful again for readers who might have missed it the first time around. 2) Linking to content within your blog. 3) Testing links within your blog to make sure they all work since Google likes links that always work. Google Analytics will do this for you. 4) Making relevant comments on other blogs since community is where the power is, plus it can be helpful in exposing your blog to new readers.
You’ll also want to examine which ads make the most money for your blog and which ones don’t. If an generic ad for a certain site earns your site less money than the ad from another advertiser, you might want to block the lower revenue ad using the competitive ad filter. Read Google’s Adsense documentation to learn about the tools you can use to figure out how to get the ad information needed to add the URL information to the ad filter. You might want to check for lists of low paying advertisers as others might know which advertisers are best to block to increase revenue.
Test all the time to see what layouts work the best for ad revenue. Could smaller ads above the content be better? Or, could a big text box below content do the trick? Maybe link units can be the money maker? Could changing ad colors (blending or contrasting) increase profits? Does your site earn more money if the ads only show for single posts, rather than on the main page? Are you running too many ads and reducing your revenue potential? The only way to know is to test to see what works the best with your blog. Always check your Adsense statistics to see if you’re moving in the right direction.
They key to blogging is to have passion for your subject matter so that you can keep writing during those times when you aren’t making any money and when it seems nobody is reading your blog. If you’re passionate about your topic and write about subjects people want to read, you’re well on your way to making some money with Adsense.

ObjectDock (Free Desktop Enhancement Software)

If you like the interface of the Mac OS but are stuck using a Windows machine, this little app from Stardock can help--if only very slightly. The premise behind ObjectDock is very simple: it adds an animated, Mac-inspired dock to your desktop that provides easy access to useful shortcuts and serves to replace your taskbar (if you so choose).
The ObjectDock install is quick and light, and the program is extremely easy to set up. A simple settings menu lets you choose how many items you want on the dock, where it is positioned, and whether you want zoom enabled. You can also adjust the size, style, and color as well as set it to autohide or remain on top.
In addition, the free version of ObjectDock includes various "docklets" (Stardock's term for widgets) that can provide quick access to weather, time, and so on. For even more features, there's an option to upgrade to the Plus version for $19.95. It includes the ability to add multiple docks, creates tabbed docks in Windows 7, and offers improved task switching.

ObjectDock is designed to add style, organization, and function to your Windows experience. Place your favorite web links, program shortcuts and information widgets on this fun, animated and easy-to-use dock. Additional docklets provide quick access to weather, time, and other useful information. A new UI allows users to choose from a number of styles and special effects for a custom experience. The free version has only one dock (Plus version adds capability to have multiple docks, adds Tabbed docks, System Tray support and skin recoloring).

What's new in this version:

• Icon reflections;
• Background blur-behind (Vista/Win7 only);
• Brand new User Interface and revamped menus;
• Now displays all running programs in your dock, allowing for pinning & unpinning ("Show Applications" mode);
• For new users, automatically imports your quicklaunch icons (XP/Vista) or pinned taskbar icons (Windows 7) into your dock;

Download Link Here

Oldest light bulb still burning after 110 years

LOS ANGELES: The four watt bulb, installed in a fire station in Livermore, California, has been declared the oldest known working light bulb by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The bulb was a gift from a businessman in 1901 and with the exception of a brief period in 1903, a week in 1937 and some power outages between then and 1976, the light has remained on.

Lynn Owens, the chairman of the town's light bulb centennial committee, said that the light's longevity has baffled scientists.

He said: "Nobody knows how it's possible. It is a 60 watt bulb and it's only turned on for about four watts but nobody knows why it keeps burning.

"We've had scientists from all over the country look at this light bulb. Of course nobody has ever been able to touch this it," he added.

The bulb has become a major tourist draw for Livermore and a celebrity in its own right. Comedy Central's The Colbert Report did a comic feature for the bulb's 110th birthday.

New airport scanners to scan in seconds

SINGAPORE: Air travel authorities have begun showing off a new type of airport security scanner that would allow travelers to walk through a tunnel-like device without having to remove coats, belts, shoes or even hand over their carry-ons for separate screening.

The device, which is expected to begin trials some time in the next 18 months, was recently unveiled by the International Air Transport Association. The idea is to give passengers the chance to speed through security, cutting down on the amount of time spent partially disrobing and then recombobulating.

The travelers would enter the fastest tunnel, which would only use x-ray, metal and liquid detectors.

The second group, "normal travelers," would get a shoe scan and pass through an explosive trace detector.

The final group, those who raise some sort of red flag with security, will be funneled off to go through the full-body scanner.

Model scanners have been installed at Singapore airport and within few years, such scanners will be installed at all major airports.

Experts lay out energy game plan

Experts from around the world today unveiled a six-point game plan for "decarbonizing" the world's sources of electric power over the next 20 years. The Equinox Summit's closing communique, issued at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, adds some new twists to the usual prescriptions for breaking our reliance on fossil fuels. But the big question is: Who'll pick up the ball?
We'll focus on that question during the next episode of "Virtually Speaking Science," airing at 1 p.m. ET Saturday on Blog Talk Radio and in the Second Life virtual world. My guest on the show is Martin Hoffert, professor emeritus of physics at New York University, who'll lay out the energy challenges that lie ahead.
"These are the types of challenges that engineers and scientists would love to work on, but there's no money," Hoffert told me.
At this week's Equinox Summit, scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs gathered together under the auspices of the Perimeter Institute and the University of Waterloo to draw up recommendations to close the anticipated gap in electric power generation.
Jatin Nathwani, executive director of the university's Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, pointed out that an estimated 16.5 terawatts of power are generated today, with all but 2.5 terawatts coming from fossil fuels. By the year 2050, experts project that the world will need at least 30 terawatts. The energy-generating capacity from renewable sources would have to increase sixfold just to hold the current level of greenhouse-gas emissions steady, Nathwani noted.
"In simple terms, all new growth to be met will have to be non-carbon sources of energy," he said.
The recommendations touch on advanced power-generation technologies as well as strategies for using that power more efficiently:

Advanced nuclear power: International collaborations can accelerate next-generation nuclear technologies, such as accelerator-driven, thorium-based systems and integral fast reactors with a fully closed fuel cycle. Closing the nuclear fuel cycle means that the nuclear waste from one cycle is folded into the fuel for the next cycle. "Nuclear waste can fuel our energy future," said Danish policy researcher Jakob Nygard. Passive nuclear safety systems reduce the risk of a Fukushima-style reactor leak.
Geothermal power: Power companies are already starting to take advantage of the heat stored in the earth, but more could be done. Robin Batterham, former chief scientist for the Australian government, said 50 percent of the world's baseload power could come from geothermal by 2050. "The key question to me is, why isn't geothermal happening faster? ... The answer is fairly simple: The larger and more extensive resources are very deep," he said. To tap those resources, drillers might have to go 3 to 5 kilometers (2 to 3 miles) deep. The summit task force recommends developing 10 large-scale, $1 billion drilling projects "to demonstrate what the real risks are," Batterham said.
Better batteries: Solar cells and wind turbines could conceivably close the energy gap — if it weren't for the fact that they don't generate electricity on a 24/7 basis. What's needed are better technologies for large-scale power storage. WWF-Canada's Zoe Caron said advanced battery technologies are under development in China, the United States, Austria and elsewhere, but "essentially the batteries have not penetrated the market yet." More demonstration projects are needed, she and her summit colleagues said.
Smart cities: Two-thirds of the world's population could be living in mega-cities by the year 2040, said Marc McArthur, manager for the Ottawa Cleantech Initiative, and that suggests that initiatives such as smart metering, "intelligent buildings" and superconducting conduits have a big role to play in making future energy use more efficient. Neighborhood-based pilot projects would serve as "a bridge to the future and also a catalist for change," McArthur said.
Urban electric mobility: Information technology can help match up city residents with appropriate modes of electric transportation, ranging from buses and light rail to shared bicycles and automobiles. Felipe De Leon, a Costa Rica-based consultant for Anaconda Carbon, said the success of ventures such as Netflix and Zipcar, and the rise of concepts such as cloud computing, demonstrates the appeal of "access without ownership" — an approach that can easily be applied to urban mobility. "The trend is moving toward increased access and sharing," he said.
Rural electrification through flexible solar power: The electric-power challenge isn't limited to urban areas. "Quite a bit of stress has been laid on the necessity to provide a leg up to the nearly 2 billion people on the planet who do not even have electric light," Canadian-born nuclear physicist Walt Patterson told me. The summit task force put special emphasis on organic solar cells that could be as flexible as a sheet of plastic and produced on glorified inkjet printers. "There are a lot of industry players who are spending billions on this," the Global Governance Institute's Aaron Leopold said. He envisioned the development of cheap solar-powered battery packs that could produce enough electricity to run a small appliance, and yet would be so portable "you can wrap it up, put it in your backpack and carry it 50 miles down the road."