ISRO To Launch 10 Satellites Together

April 24th, 2008

PSLV C9The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch ten satellites, including eight from abroad, which will be carried by PSLV-C9, on April 28 from Sriharikota.

The cluster of satellites being carried on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C9 will also include the advanced remote sensing satellite, Cartosat-2A, which will carry high resolution stereo cameras and scientific instruments and will have intelligence gathering functions.

This will mark the first time that ISRO will attempt a simultaneous launch of ten satellites, ISRO officials said.

The mission will also see the launch of eight micro-satellites. The 5-20 kg satellites have been provided by three European countries, as well as from Canada.

The satellites would be ejected into a 635 km orbit. Cartosat-2A, which is of one metre resolution, would be used for mapping purposes and management of natural resources.

SatelliteThe second Indian satellite of the cluster, weighing 85 kg, was an experimental remote sensing satellite. It would also be used as a platform for trying out advanced technology during the coming launches, the official said.

The launch is scheduled at 0920 hrs from ISRO’s launch port Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 28 April. ISRO considers the launch very important as it was a major step forward in its commercial launch operations.

Technically also, it is an important mission, as satellites have to be put at the right time in precise orbit one by one.

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Software Turns Mobiles Into Wi-Fi Hotspots

April 2nd, 2008

Here’s a cool use for a phone that has both cellular broadband and Wi-Fi: Turn it into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot so your friends can surf the Internet on their laptops.

A couple startups have created and made available software like this in the last year. But a more established software maker said Wednesday that it has created a package for carriers to offer their customers.

TapRoot Systems Inc. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said it was talking with carriers about providing their customers with the software, which would let up to five Wi-Fi users connect to a phone.

A possible free trial version would let only one Wi-Fi user connect to the phone at a time.

The software works on phones with Windows Mobile or Symbian S60 software. Windows phones are common in the U.S., while Symbian is championed by Nokia Corp. and more common in Europe. There already is an independent program called WMWifirouter that turns Windows phones into hotspots, and there’s one called JoikuSpot for Nokia phones.

Capacity is limited on third-generation cellular broadband networks, and carriers are somewhat restrictive of the applications they allow, for fear their networks will be overwhelmed.

[via msnbc]

 

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Modu Mini Phone: Worlds Lightest And Smallest Phone

April 1st, 2008

Everyday there is a new mobile phone model is being released in to the market. Some are trendy, some are smart and well designed and loaded with hundreds of features.

Did you ever wanted to have a phone that’s just a phone. Here comes the lightest and smallest phone: Modu Mini phone. You can think of Modu as an expanded SIM card. It can make a call, send text messages, and hold a contact list—the bare minimum required to be a mobile phone. That is why it is so small—about the size of an iPod Nano.

This Modu Mini Phone is a modular phone, that can be slipped into different device jackets —like an MP3 player, a GPS device, a bigger cell phone, car stereo, or a digital camera. (Although, it will initially only support GPRS, which is slow. Another drawback—there is no WiFi.) In a camera, for instance, Modu can be used to send pictures over the wireless network. (Although, it will initially only support GPRS, which is slow. Another drawback—there is no WiFi.)

Modu Mini Phone

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Another Feature From Google: Search Within Search

March 6th, 2008

The most popular search engine Google added one more feature to its search, where you can search within a search. If you type in popular company/website key words, like ‘amazon’, ‘wikipedia’, ‘intel’, ‘microsoft’ on Google, it brings up the relevant result at the top and immediately underneath is a second search box. If you type a keyword in that secondary search box it will return results from within that site.

Google: Search Within Search

I think its really very useful as we depend a lot for information on Google together with sites like Wikipedia, Amezon etc.

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Research: Bacteria Capable Of Generating Electricity

March 4th, 2008

Researchers at the University of Minnesota studying bacteria capable of generating electricity have discovered that riboflavin (commonly known as vitamin B-2) is responsible for much of the energy produced by these organisms.

ShewanellaThe bacteria, Shewanella, are commonly found in water and soil and are of interest because they can convert simple organic compounds (such as lactic acid) into electricity, according to Daniel Bond and Jeffrey Gralnick, of the University of Minnesota’s BioTechnology Institute and department of microbiology, who led the research effort.

The discovery means Shewanella can produce more power simply by increased riboflavin levels. Also, the finding opens up multiple possibilities for innovations in renewable energy and environmental clean-up. The research is published in the March 3 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Wireless Energy Transfer Possibility

February 4th, 2008

Wireless energy transfer has been thought about for decades by scientists all over the world. There were many experiments done and some are successfully till some extent.

In 2007, US researchers have successfully tested an experimental system to deliver power to devices without the need for wires.

Wireless Energy TransferThe experimental setup consisted of two 60cm (2ft) diameter copper coils, a transmitter attached to a power source and a receiver placed 2m (7ft) away and attached to a light bulb. WiTricity, as it is called, exploits simple physics and could be adapted to charge other devices such as laptops.

The bulb was even made to glow when obstructions such as wood, metal and electronic devices were placed between the two coils.

“There is nothing in this that would have prevented them inventing this 10 or even 20 years ago,” commented Professor Sir John Pendry of Imperial College London who has seen the experiments.

Read the rest of this entry »

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