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Showing posts from January 24, 2010

India to launch 'Chandrayaan-2' by 2013

Bangalore, Jan 28 (ANI): Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chief K. Radhakrishnan on Wednesday said the configuration for the new moon mission 'Chandrayaan-2' is being finalized and added that it would be launched by 2013. Chandrayaan-2, which will be a joint effort between ISRO and Russia, will consist of a lander and a rover for a soft land on moon. The rover will move on the surface of the moon and pick up samples of rocks and soil and conduct a chemical analysis on it. The data would then be sent to the spacecraft orbiting above. "We are finalizing the configuration for Chandrayaan-2. This mission will have an orbiter, which will carry the lander and a rover. The lander will bring the rover to the surface of the moon and during the time it is there, (it) will take some samples to be analyzed in the orbiter and back to the earth. In the orbiter we will have certain instruments, we are finalizing which are those to be put there. It is about 50 kilograms of m...

Apple pitches $499 iPad, takes on Amazon

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  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off a sleek tablet that it called the iPad, pitching the new gadget at a surprisingly low price to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops. A buoyant Jobs took the stage at a packed theatre on Wednesday to show off the 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet, which looks like a large iPhone, and to introduce a new iBook electronic reader service that will compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle. The iPad is Apple's biggest bet on a new product since the iPhone three years ago, and seeks to tap an unproven market for tablets. Analysts, while impressed by the iPad's seamless functionality, also pointed out that consumers already have smartphones and laptops for their mobile computing needs. Jobs described the iPad as a "third category" of devices, a do-everything media gadget that can surf the Web, and play movies and video games. He also left little doubt that Apple was going after the e-book market th...

60 reasons to love India

New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- Our ability to adapt other cuisines to our tastes: Hot and Sour Chinese soup has desi tadka. Sandwiches aren't thinly sliced and lightly buttered slices of bread with slivers of cucumber. We add green chutney and sliced aloo and beetroot. We invented Chicken and Veg Manchurian, developed Udipi pizzas, concocted onion omelettes, created veg kheema, de-Japanesed Japanese food by cooking up gajjar-ka-sushi, and now are well on the way to Indianising the seafood diet of penguins in Antarctica just in case that becomes the hot new phoren cuisine of 2010. Faith and spirituality: Tell someone you don't believe in God. Go on. You'll find yourself arguing so vehemently to make your case that you could well be accused of having a severe case of faith - faith in no God in this case. Because that's what we do - believe. Hard. With passion. In anything we want to believe. Which is why practically every faith known to God is right here in India, and we'r...

Ethiopian plane crashes off Beirut, 14 bodies found

An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 90 people on board crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Beirut in stormy weather early on Monday and the airline's chief executive said there was no word of survivors. The Boeing 737-800, heading for Addis Ababa, disappeared off the radar some five minutes after taking off at 2:37 a.m. (0037 GMT) during a thunder storm and heavy rain. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said he did not think the plane had been brought down deliberately. "As of now, a sabotage act is unlikely. The investigation will uncover the cause," Suleiman told a news conference. Fourteen bodies have so far been recovered near the crash site three-and-a-half km (two miles) west of the coastal village of Na'ameh. Eighty-three passengers and seven crew were on the flight, Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi said at the airport. Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said he had spoken with Lebanese authorities who did not confirm there were survivors. ...

Plan to counter threat from Chinese suppliers

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P ricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) and the Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA) have recommended that the Centre and state governments ensure 15 per cent price preference for government enterprises. It said such a decision would help counter the growing threat from Chinese suppliers. The statement called for preference in bids for both domestically- and externally-funded international procurements. In a statement, they also said that the Central Electricity Authority should frame regulations for standardisation of specifications for grid-connected equipment, adding that this should cover higher voltages and, subsequently, extend to downstream voltages. Executives said these measures were immediately required as the power equipment manufacturing industry in India [ Images  ] was concerned about proliferation of Chinese suppliers. While Chinese manufacturers were at an advantage due to certain benefits and incentives made available to them, India...