Automotive Science & Technology Updates: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

NASA Plans First Space Washing Machine

Space washing machine will allow astronauts to change underwear more than once a week

Have you ever wondered how astronauts in the International Space Station deal with their laundry when they stay there for months at a time? With no easy way to wash clothes or get them delivered, astronauts spend up to a week wearing the same underwear, and even longer than that for other articles of clothing. In order to make their lives a bit more hygienic, NASA has commissioned a washing machine design that can work in zero gravity.

NASA contracted Oregon-based UMPQUA Research Company to create a prototype of a low-power washing machine that uses a very small amount of water. To be more precise, part of the contract reads: "Flight Hardware for long duration human missions beyond low Earth orbit...The system is suitable for use in any long term space mission where resupply logistics preclude routine delivery of fresh crew clothing and removal of disposable clothing articles. While the proposed laundry system is microgravity compatible, the system will be completely functional in reduced gravity environments."

UMPQUA proposed a machine that uses not only jets of air and vapor but also microwave rays to clean clothes. The company claims its system achieves "greatly enhanced softness" compared to other low-water laundry tech. Once the machine is deemed viable for use, astronauts can stop the current practice of sending their laundry on unmanned capsules to burn on the Earth's atmosphere, and using their soiled underwear to grow plants in. The futuristic washing machine may be designed for outer space, but the company believes it could also be used on ships, military outposts, and Earth-bound research stations.
Source:Yahoo

10 New Google Analytics Features You Need to Start Using...!

Over the past eight months, Google has steadily released one revolutionary new feature after another. On Mar. 17, the company announced a new version of Google Analytics. Up until this point, users could decide whether they preferred to stick with the old interface or switch to the new one. However, Google recently announced that the old version of GA will be turned off in January 2012.
If you’re not already familiar with the new version, take the next few weeks to get comfortable with it. To help you get started, let’s review the top 10 features of the new Google Analytics.

1. Dashboards

Dashboards got a much needed overhaul in the new GA. Users can now create up to 20 personalized dashboards, developing widgets and formats that make the most sense for them or their company. For instance, each company department could develop its own distinct dashboard to quickly access site performance statistics that relate to department goals. Keep in mind: Dashboards can only be shared by users on the same login.

At a minimum, these four widgets would benefit the average user.

Visits – Timeline (can also include Metric)
Goal Completions and/or Transactions – Timeline
Source/Medium – Table
Bounce Rate – Timeline

2. Keyword Clouds

Rather than viewing a long list of keywords to spot trends, users can now evaluate a keyword cloud. This cloud makes it easy to visualize top keywords based on different user-selected criteria, including visits, bounce rates and pages per visit.

3. Real-Time Data

In the past, Google Analytics data was typically delayed up to 24 hours after the visit. For the first time, GA offers a real-time data solution. With its real-time reports, users can view the activity on the site as it happens, drilling into the top active pages, top referrals, keywords and geographic locations driving the traffic. In addition to monitoring current activity on the site, these reports can also be used to test campaign tracking prior to launching campaigns.

4. Site Speed

When Google released this report several months ago, it required additional code to be added to sites. Now speed reporting is standard on GA, and doesn’t need extra code. Use the site speed reports to get information about average page load time.

Why is this important? A slow site can have a negative effect on quality score for paid search, so visits can cost more to a slower site. Google has also indicated that site speed may be an important factor in organic search rankings. Additionally, a one-second delay can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. Use this report to monitor site speed and avoid these issues.

5. Search Simplifies Navigation

GA has activated menu search, a phenomenal usability update. The tool makes it easier for users to quickly navigate to the proper report. Google also created an account search that lets users directly access the correct profile, rather than scrolling through hundreds to locate the right one.

GA also introduced the ability to switch between multiple profiles while staying with and maintaining the settings of the same report. Previously this could only be done using a Firefox plugin.

6. Webmaster Tools

The new integration incorporates Google Webmaster Tools data into Google Analytics. Using this tool, users can get a better sense of which Google property (web, image, local) drove site traffic. Similar to statistics provided to paid search advertisers, Webmaster Tools provides impressions, average position and CTR data for GA.

Although the numbers are not 100% accurate, they can be used to evaluate relative trends and to provide insight into data lost due to Google’s search update. Although the Webmaster Tools report is in Google Analytics, it’s limited to a single part of GA.

7. Social Engagement

Use Google Analytics to track how visitors interact socially with your site. A 2010 study showed 54% of small and medium-sized businesses said they already use or plan to use social media, and 17% planned to increase their social budget again from 2010 to 2011. With more companies making a push for social, it makes sense to analyze social site interactions.

GA’s new social reports break down how many of a site’s visitors are socially engaged with the site, itemizing which social source and action occurred. That way you can determine how many of your visitors +1′d site content vs. how many Liked it, as well as the pages that prompted this social action. Social plugins ShareThis and AddThis easily integrate with Google Analytics, passing information on social interactions back to GA with minimal changes.

8. Visitor Flow & Goal Flow Visualization

Flow Visualization was announced in October, but only recently started rolling out to most users. Flow Visualization consists of two reports: Visitors Flow and Goal Flow. The Visitors Flow report can be used to visualize the “flow” of visitors through the site, while the Goal Flow is an improvement on the original Funnel Visualization reports.

The Goal Flow report is especially valuable, as it simplifies evaluating a conversion funnel. Have a checkout process six pages long? Now you can determine at which page people are abandoning their carts. Then improve the process and save the sales.

9. Event Tracking

Prior to this new feature, any goal interaction with a site that didn’t result in a new URL needed to be tracked using special code to create a virtual pageview, which resulted in inflated numbers in GA. For the first time, Events can be used as goals. Want to find out how many people downloaded a PDF? Interested in knowing how many visitors viewed more than 30 seconds of a video on your site? Now users can easily track these events without affecting other metrics.

10. Multi-Channel Funnels

The Multi-Channel Funnels are a series of reports intended to help provide attribution information. For example, a person visits your site first from a paid search ad, then from an organic search listing, then from a link in Twitter, and finally from an email link. Therefore, which channel should get credit for the conversion? With many analytics platforms, the credit goes to the final funnel, thus, the email marketing campaign.

Multiple reports in the new Multi-Channel Funnels allow users to view further back than the final channel. Now GA shows every interaction a user had with the site in the 30 days prior to conversion. Using these reports, departments can take credit for their assists to conversions, and companies can make more informed decisions about which marketing activities have the highest ROI.

These are just a few of the many great advancements made to Google Analytics with the new rollout. While there are still several features missing (such as the PDF and email export functionalities, percent comparisons, missing graph by week option, etc.), Google is constantly striving to correct these with future iterations of the platform.
Source:Mashable

Nvidia Wins Processor Slot In Next Kindle Fire, Analyst Says ??

Nvidia will supply the application processor in the second version of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, Canaccord Genuity analyst Bobby Burleson asserts in a research note. He attributes the information to “conversations with sources in the tablet supply chain.”

Burleson says the next Fire is expected to have an 8.9-inch screen, larger than the current 7-inch version.

Nvidia’s win would be a loss for Texas Instruments, which provides a comparable part in the first-generation Fire. “Widely viewed as the only other successful tablet besides iPad/2, a win or loss in the next gen Fire could be seen as a proxy for TXN’s overall apps processor potential in higher-end tablets,” Burleson writes in a research note.

NVDA is up 62 cents, or 4.2% to $15.53.

Source:Forbes

Strange Pits at Stonehenge Reveals New Clues to Ancient Worship

Stonehenge may have been a place for sun worship long before the iconic stones were erected more than 5,000 years ago, according to archaeologists who are carrying out the biggest-ever virtual excavation.

The sun rises behind the Stonehenge monument in England during the summer solstice, shortly after 4:52 am, early Monday, June 21, 2010.

Using noninvasive technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and geophysical imaging, a team from the University of Birmingham's IBM Visual and Spatial Technology Center, known as VISTA, and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna, discovered evidence of two huge pits positioned on a celestial alignment at Stonehenge.

Measuring more than 16 feet across and at least 3 feet deep, the pits lie within the Cursus, a large enclosure north of Stonehenge, which predates the prehistoric monument by up to 500 years.

"This is the first time we have seen anything quite like this at Stonehenge," said project leader Vince Gaffney, an archaeologist from the University of Birmingham.

"When viewed from the Heel Stone, a rather enigmatic stone which stands just outside the entrance to Stonehenge, the pits effectively mark the raising and setting of the sun at midsummer days," he explained.

According to the archaeologists, the pits may have contained tall stones, wooden posts or even fires to mark the sun rising and setting. Most likely, they defined a processional route used to celebrate the passage of the sun across the sky at the summer solstice.

"It is possible that processions within the Cursus moved from the eastern pit at sunrise, continuing eastwards along the Cursus and, following the path of the sun overhead, perhaps back to the west, reaching the western pit at sunset to mark the longest day of the year," said Gaffney.

The hypothesis gained more weight when the researchers measured the walking distance between the two pits.

They discovered that the procession would reach exactly halfway at midday, when the sun would be directly on top of Stonehenge.

"This is more than just a coincidence, indicating that the exact length of the Cursus and the positioning of the pits are of significance," said Henry Chapman, senior lecturer in archaeology and visualization at the University of Birmingham.

According to the researchers, the presence of the pits within the Cursus suggest that the Stonehenge area, which features England's densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, was already sacred before construction work began to build the enigmatic stone circle.

"Even though Stonehenge was ultimately the most important monument in the landscape, it may at times not have been the only, or most important, ritual focus," said Gaffney.

"The area of Stonehenge may have become significant as a sacred site at a much earlier date. Other activities were carried out at other ceremonial sites only a short distance away," he continued.

The researchers have already found a henge-like monument, several other small monuments, and a new horseshoe arrangement of large pits northeast of Stonehenge, which may have also contained posts.

They believe that these structures functioned as minor shrines, perhaps serving specific communities visiting the ceremonial center.

The team is confident that the project will produce new discoveries soon.

"Our knowledge of the ancient landscapes that once existed around Stonehenge is growing dramatically as we examine the new geophysical survey results," said Paul Garwood, a lecturer in prehistory at the University of Birmingham.

"We can see in rich detail not only new monuments but entire landscapes of past human activity, over thousands of years, preserved in subsurface features such as pits and ditches."

Source:Foxnews

Samsung Win Appeal in Apple Tablet Battle

South Korean electronics giant Samsung Wednesday won its appeal against a temporary ban on sales of its Galaxy tablet device in Australia, a rare victory in its legal tussle with rival Apple.

Samsung Electronics Galaxy Tab 10.1N

The Sydney courtroom battle is part of a wider global war in which two of the world's biggest technology companies are vying for supremacy in the US$100 billion market for tablet computers and smartphones.

The Federal Court of Australia in Sydney lifted the ban on the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 ahead of a full hearing on claims from the US giant that the device copies its iPad computer.

But Apple immediately won a stay of orders, meaning that Samsung will not be able to sell the Galaxy in Australia before 0500 GMT Friday.

"The appeal will be allowed," the judgment by Justice John Dowsett, Justice Lindsay Foster and Justice David Yates concluded.

"Samsung will be permitted to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia provided it keeps accounts of all transactions involving that device in Australia or originating from Australia."

Samsung Electronics Australia said it was pleased with the decision.

"We believe the ruling clearly affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit," it said in a statement issued from Seoul, adding that it would comment shortly on the market availability of the tablet in Australia.

The Federal Court granted an interim order against the sale of the Galaxy 10.1 in October, ruling that Apple had established a prima facie case that the South Korean company had breached touchscreen technology copyrights.

But in reversing this decision, the court said there was "a real and substantial prospect" the supply of the Galaxy would not infringe an Australian patent relating to the touchscreen, one of several on which Apple had sought the temporary ban.

"We have referred to a number of difficulties that confront Apple in making good its case on infringement. It may well be that, on a final hearing, Apple will meet these difficulties. But difficulties they are," they said.

They said while the case was open to be argued, they were doubtful of whether Apple had established a prima facie case on that particular claim.

Apple may now apply to the High Court for a further extension of the stay of sales beyond Friday, despite objections from Samsung.

"It simply serves to prolong the injustice suffered by Samsung," lawyer Neil Young told reporters.

In their judgment, the justices noted that the commercial life of the Samsung tablet was approximately 12 months from launch and given there was no final hearing fixed for the matter, the initial ban had "the practical effect of killing off the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia".

"Although not so as a matter of law, the practical effect of those injunctions is to deliver to Apple complete victory in respect of its claims for final injunctions in respect of that device," they said.

Apple won a similar ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany in October related to copyright breaches, prompting Samsung to later say it had modified the design of its newest tablet in an attempt to bypass the sales ban.

The two companies are also engaged in an ongoing battle over smartphone and tablet technology in the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Tim Renowden, a consumer IT analyst with technology consultancy firm Ovum, said the move would inject greater competition into the Australian tablet market, currently dominated by the iPad, in the lead-up to Christmas.

"From a consumer's point of view it's preferable to have competition in the market, rather than in the courts," he said.

"Samsung's Christmas elves will be rushing to prepare Galaxy Tab orders."

Source:Yahoo News

Laptop Wi-Fi May Damage Sperm...

Wannabe fathers might want to take note, as according to research carried out by scientists from the US and Argentina, extended use of a laptop placed on your lap with Wi-Fi switched on could damage sperm.

In an experiment, sperm samples from each donor were separated into two pots, a BBC report explained. One was placed close to a laptop with the Wi-Fi function activated and left for four hours, while the other was placed in the same environmental conditions except this time there was no laptop present.

At the end of the experiment, the scientists discovered that 25 percent of the sperm that had been left with the laptop had given up the fight (ie. stopped swimming about) and had also undergone changes in their genetic code. For the sperm without the laptop, the non-swimmer figure was 14 percent.

While the scientists acknowledge that heat can damage sperm, they believe it isn’t this causing the adverse effect. Instead, they believe electromagnetic radiation may be the culprit.

Their findings are published in the respected Fertility and Sterility journal. “Our data suggest that the use of a laptop computer wirelessly connected to the internet and positioned near the male reproductive organs may decrease human sperm quality,” the scientists wrote in their report.

President of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, Robert Oates, questioned the findings, telling Reuters, “This is not real-life biology, this is a completely artificial setting. It is scientifically interesting, but to me it doesn’t have any human biological relevance.”

To maintain healthy sperm, Oates said “staying lean, eating healthy foods, exercising, not taking drugs and not smoking” are the most important factors.

Clearly, more research needs to be done to establish whether using a laptop on your lap for an extended period of time has any effect on sperm.

Of course, some common sense is required when using a hot laptop close to your particulars. The BBC reports the case of an unfortunate man who “burnt his penis after using a laptop resting on his lap for a long time.” But such an incident does rather beg the question: why didn’t he remove the laptop before the burning sensation started?

Advice: If you have to use your laptop in the nude, best keep it away from your private parts.

Source:Yahoo News

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

HP Firesale Wafts TouchPad to Top Of Tablet Chart

HP was the top selling tablet vendor in the US - ignoring Apple, of course - through to the end of October, and it's all thanks to the TouchPad firesale.

Market watcher NPD yesterday revealed that in the ten months from January to October inclusive, HP accounted for 17 per cent of non-iPad tablet retail sales, a percentage point above second-placed Samsung.

Asus followed with ten per cent of sales, just ahead of Motorola and Acer, both of which took nine per cent of the market.

All the others, including HTC and RIM, jointly took the remaining 39 per cent.

NPD said 1.2m non-iPad tablets crossed sales counters in the ten-month period. Apple shipped 25m iPads worldwide during the first nine months of the year - half of those were likely US sales. Whatever the figure, US iPad sales would have to be weak indeed if that territory's proportion were close to the sales of other tablets.

Of course, with almost all TouchPads - if not actually every one of them - now sold, HP's share will plunge. Samsung is likely to grab the top slot, but Amazon's Kindle Fire will surely be close behind - if not ahead of it.

Source:Reghardware

Samsung Has Developed a Fix for Galaxy Nexus Sound Volume Issue

Samsung will update the Galaxy Nexus as soon as possible to fix an issue that is causing problems with sound volume, the company said on Wednesday.

"We are aware of the volume issue and have developed a fix. We will update devices as soon as possible," a spokesman said via e-mail, without elaborating on what actually caused the problem.

The new Google phone went on sale in the U.K. last week, and just days later users started reporting in Google's Android developer forum that the volume drops to nothing seemingly at random and the volume rocker becomes unresponsive for a few seconds.

One Galaxy Nexus owner returned the phone only to find the same problem with the replacement: "I was already awake and had not touched the phone yet, the alarm sounded for a second and then went silent. Thought that was weird so checked the phone and the volume was down. I can't trust the alarm to wake me up now for work!"

The volume variations seemed unrelated to the wireless network used, with phones misbehaving when connected to Wi-Fi, and 3G, or with wireless turned off, phone owners reported.

The Galaxy Nexus is based on Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone has a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 1280 x 720 resolution, and is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor.

Source:PCWorld